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Dr. Eduardwil (Ed) Hernandez Vegas comes to Honor Community Health from Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was a Senior Clinical Research Coordinator at the University of Utah. He earned his medical degree at Universidad Centro-Occidental Lisandro Alvarado Decanato de Ciencias de la Salud in Venezuela.
He has much independent experience, having worked a general practitioner in rural communities in Venezuela and Ecuador. Since coming to the United States, he has been very active in clinical care and research in the areas of obstetrics and gynecology, as well as urology and men’s health.
Through his path, he states that he was able to work with people from varied backgrounds and socioeconomic levels, leading to a commitment to communities in need.
He has a passion for promoting equity to the underserved, minoritized communities. His “future goals as a physician are to work in medical education, develop health promotion and disease prevention programs that impact the health and wellness of urban communities, and continue on my path of research and medical innovation.”
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Dr. Lizmar Rivera Nuñez hails from Puerto Rico, where she earned her undergraduate degree. She later earned her medical degree from Universidad Autonoma De Guadalajara, in Mexico. Dr. Rivera Nuñez arrives here in Pontiac from Las Vegas, Nevada, where she has had extensive direct patient clinical care, as well as impressive research experience; most recently she was a Lead Clinical Research Coordinator.
She states that interactions with and opportunities to treat and educate patients with diabetes factored into her interest and drive to pursue family medicine.
She has a keen interest in continuity of care and a sense of community, stating “being able to develop an ongoing relationship with patients and helping people of all ages are among the aspects that make me want to become a family doctor. As a family doctor, I can become an essential part of the community and help patients to feel better and prevent health issues later on.”
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Dr. Naga Preethi (Preethi) Kadiri earned her medical degree from Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute in India and arrives here from Baltimore, Maryland, where she was quickly elevated to Chief Fellow in her area at Johns Hopkins University. She has done impressive work in clinical research and medical rotations in the intensive care unit (ICU). Dr. Kadiri has particular acumen in pulmonary medicine.
Dr. Kadiri stated that she personally witnessed struggles to access medical care in her area of India. She also has great insight and passion for the importance of access to medical facilities and preventive medicine.
She states that she has a “desire to acquire knowledge from some of the best physicians in the country, enhance my ability to work well in challenging situations, and quickly adapt to the program. I look forward to… continue to serve where I am needed the most.”
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Dr. Faris Shlash is a familiar face at Honor Community Health, having served in the last year as Honor’s Clinical Quality Manager. He earned his medical degree with high honors and recognition from Al-Nahrain University School of Medicine in Iraq. A remarkable journey led him to the United States and eventually to Honor Community Health.
As Clinical Quality Manager, Dr. Shlash has been instrumental in several initiatives affecting diabetic care, immunizations, cancer screening rates and more. His insight and skill have helped to devise ways to improve several processes in these areas.
Dr. Shlash states that, “Growing up, my great uncle, Hameed Shlash, was a tremendous source of inspiration for me. He was a highly accomplished surgeon who made a positive impact on the community where he lived. Witnessing his achievements… inspired me to pursue a career in medicine.” He shares that drive to promote health in underserved communities and is excited to continue serving Pontiac as a family medicine resident.
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Dr. Oluwabusayo (Busayo) Alade states, “as a physician trained in Nigeria, I am deeply committed to providing exceptional and compassionate medical care, particularly to those from underserved communities. My passion for medicine began early in my life and was reinforced during my medical training and clinical rotations at some of Nigeria's top hospitals.”
Dr. Alade is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University College of Health and Sciences in Nigeria. He later earned a degree in epidemiology and a master’s degree in public health (MPH) from Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. He has most recently been working at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has particular interest and acumen in infectious disease control and quality improvement.
He states, “in addition to my passion for primary care and hospital medicine, I am deeply committed to serving my community and utilizing my skills to enhance the health and well-being of those around me.”
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Dr. Anmol Rattan S Riar earned his medical degree from St. Martinus School of Medicine in Curacao. He is not a stranger to Pontiac or to Honor Community Health, having done rotations at the Family Medicine Center during medical school. He returns to Pontiac from St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, where he has been doing clinical work with patients admitted to hospitals there.
Early personal experiences in India demonstrated the need for preventive care and sparked a passion for primary care. Notably, his experience at Honor Community Health was one that left an imprint:
“I started my family medicine clinical clerkship at Honor Community Health, Pontiac, MI a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Within a matter of days, I felt ‘at home’ with the outpatient rotation and discovered that my passions, values, and aptitudes converged whenever I listened to patient’s stories, understood their experiences, and found ways to help them. The satisfaction I gained from seeing patients receive appropriate treatment for acute and chronic conditions, as well as preventative care, was very fulfilling.”
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Dr. Jason Caluducan states, “I gravitate to the thought of being in the front line of diagnosis and planning, nurturing long-term relationships with patients and being exposed to the full spectrum of problems and issues in medicine.”
Dr. Caluducan is from Markham, Ontario and is a graduate of the University of the East/Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center College of Medicine in the Philippines. He has contributed to research in the field of infertility and reproductive immunology and has conducted surveys among non-English speaking patients to identify barriers to care.
He has excelled in family and community medicine and found value during rotations in which he “experienced first-hand the hardships and limited resources of healthcare services of… communities in need.” Dr. Caluducan brings an unmatched enthusiasm to bring quality healthcare to communities like those that Honor Community Health serves.
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Dr. Fatima Wajahath is well known to us at Honor Community Health, having served in the last year as a medical assistant at our Baldwin site and others. She has been serving the Pontiac patient population since 2021. She earned her medical degree from Deccan College of Medical Sciences in India. Determination and perseverance eventually led her to the Honor Community Health Family Medicine Residency.
As a medical assistant, she impressed with her knowledge and skill, especially at visits related to prenatal care for birthing patients, as well as women’s health maintenance.
“Early volunteer work in programs… such as the free health camps for the poor, urban AIDS awareness campaigns, pulse polio immunization drives, and remote well baby clinics that catered to the health care needs of underserved communities and poorly accessible villages gave me the thrill of applying scientific knowledge in practice, nurtured my core constructs and equipped me for a life-long commitment to Family Medicine.” Honor Community Health is excited to continue nurturing Dr. Wajahath’s passion for health equity.
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Dr. Perusina arrives at Honor Community Health via St. Augustine, Florida, where he was a House Physician Trainee for a medical physicians group, managing many aspects of patient care under physician supervision, while also training medical students and first-year physician assistant students. He earned his medical degree from Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador Facultad de Medicina in El Salvador.
He has independent medical experience, having worked as a general physician for three years in El Salvador. He has also been active in clinical research, studying risk factors that affect pre- and post-operative patients.
Dr. Perusina sees an emphasis on community and mitigating healthcare disparities in his future, stating: “I see myself taking on greater clinical and teaching responsibilities as a board-certified Physician, building my reputation among local and foreign communities… I would love to have… engagement where I could help people in underserved communities both locally and overseas, to someday be able to change the mentality of ‘I don't need to go to the doctor if I'm not sick.’"
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Dr. Apote Zekpa hails from Togo, where early family experiences demonstrated the impact that inadequate access to primary care can have. Subsequent exposure to primary care physicians and health maintenance visits sparked in interest to pursue primary care himself. He earned his medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine.
Dr. Zekpa arrives here in Pontiac from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he has had extensive direct patient clinical care for which he earned high praise and recommendations from his physician supervisors. He was key in an impressive community initiative called Happy Period to get menstrual hygiene products to those in Miami experiencing houselessness. “This opened my eyes to areas of life that we take for granted on a daily basis… and gave me a different outlook on how I can help others.” Honor Community Health’s patient population will be next to benefit from Dr. Zekpa’s clinical acumen and dedication to community.
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Dr. Swetha Aloori earned her medical degree from MNR Medical College in India and arrives here from Baltimore, Maryland, where she was a post-doctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University. There she was prolific in publications related to critical care.
Dr. Aloori has held many positions from volunteer to a medical officer in India. Conscious about healthcare equity, she emphasizes that she was “born and raised in a family that emphasizes virtues such as generosity, kindness, and community engagement,” leading her to “develop a keen sense of social responsibility.” This showed with her service to low-income and underserved populations for several years in her home county.
Honor Community Health welcomes Dr. Aloori and looks forward to preparing her for her stated long-term goals. She plans “to use the expertise acquired to provide quality healthcare, conduct research, and become an academic mentor.”
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Dr. Atif Rashid comes to Honor Community Health from Milton, Ontario. He gained extensive clinical experience as a medical assistant and scribe and earned his medical degree from the Caribbean Medical University School of Medicine. With experience as a clinical supervisor, he has helped to devise creative ways to improve clinical operations and patient care quality.
He has also been prolific in research, contributing to publications looking at such things as statin therapy and relation to cognitive function, as well as the quality of evidence of nutrition and diet recommendations.
Dr. Rashid has a keen sense of community, having had impactful experiences with local communities in Chicago, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Through those, he states that he has “gained empathy, cultural competence, and collaborative abilities to excel in a Family Medicine residency.” He aims to “become someone in the community that people can trust with their health and accompany them through life's ups and downs as an educator and advocate.”