Hospital adds Laurie Hitzel, Director of Imaging; Alexa Stinnette, Manager of Simpson Breast Health Center; and Melody Johnson, Nurse Navigator

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL., NOV 20, 2012. Florida Hospital Zephyrhills has hired three new team members to manage the recently opened Simpson Breast Health Center. The team includes Laurie Hitzel, Director of Imaging; Alexa Stinnette, Manager of Simpson Breast Health Center; and Melody Johnson, Nurse Navigator.

Laurie Hitzel, MS, RT (R)(M), has joined Florida Hospital Zephyrhills as the Director of Imaging. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic direction and management of all areas of imaging/radiology within the Hospital. Most recently, Ms. Hitzel was employed with Florida Hospital Altamonte Springs as the Imaging Manager, a position that she held since 2006, and has been with Florida Hospital since 1999. Prior to that position, she was a Radiology Clinical Instructor at Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, and a Radiologic Technologist/Mammographer at the Orlando VA Healthcare Center. She also served in the United States Air Force from 1993 to 1999. She holds a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Education from St. Joseph’s College of Maine, a BS in Healthcare Administration from the University of Central Florida, and an AS degree in Radiology from the Community College of the Air Force.

Alexa Stinnette has been promoted to the Manager of the Simpson Breast Health Center. She will be managing the day-to-day operations of the Simpson Breast Health Center, including staffing, scheduling, and patient care oversight. She has been employed at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills since 2001 as Lead Mammography Technologist. Prior to her time at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, she worked as a Clinical Instructor at Hillsborough Community College and as a Radiologic Technologist at Florida Orthopedic Institute and at Tampa General Hospital. She holds an AS degree in Radiology from Hillsborough Community College, a Mammography Registry, and a Breast Ultrasound Registry.

Melody Johnson, ARNP, MSN, FNP-BC, has been added as the new Nurse Navigator for the Simpson Breast Health Center. She will be responsible for guiding patients and their families throughout the treatment and recovery process, providing care coordination, education, support, and guidance. Ms. Johnson brings over 20 years of nursing and clinical experience to her new role at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, and she has held positions as both an educator as well as a clinical provider. Her most recent clinical position was as a provider at Here We Grow Pediatrics in St. Petersburg, FL, and Adjunct Assistant Professor at South University in Tampa. She holds a MSN and a BSN from the University of South Florida, College of Nursing, as well as an AA and ASN from Pasco-Hernando Community College. She holds an ARNP license, an ANCC Family ARNP Board Certification, and a Florida RN license.

“We have assembled a very strong team to lead our new breast health center,” said Doug Duffield, President and CEO, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, “I am confident they will help patients receive the most compassionate and best care possible.”

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About Florida Hospital Zephyrhills
Florida Hospital Zephyrhills is a 139-bed regional medical center located in East Pasco County. It is a member of the Florida Hospital network of Adventist Health System, the largest health care provider in the state. Florida Hospital Zephyrhills has an award-winning Heart Institute and is the only Tampa Bay Area Hospital to receive the 2010 HealthGrades Excellence Award for Coronary Intervention. The only nationally accredited chest pain center in East Pasco County, the Heart Institute is also one of only ten nationally accredited heart failure hospitals in the country. In 2012 Florida Hospital Zephyrhills launched a comprehensive Neuroscience Institute to immediately respond to acute strokes and provide brain surgery, spine surgery and minimally invasive neuro-interventions. The hospital offers robotic partial knee replacement through its Orthopaedic Institute. It also offers emergency services, surgical services, obstetrics and the Simpson Breast Health Center. Visit www.fhzeph.org for more information.