A Heartfelt Farewell and Thank You

From the Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers of Emergency Medicine of Blue Ridge

To our patients, our neighbors, and our community, 

For more than thirty years, it has been the greatest privilege of our professional lives to stand at your side in your most vulnerable moments: in the middle of the night, on holidays, in moments of great joy, fear, uncertainty, and grief. You trusted us with what matters most: your health, your lives, and the lives of those you love. None of us will ever take that trust for granted or forget it.

We are the providers of Emergency Medicine of Blue Ridge (EMBR),  your emergency physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Many of our providers moved to the Shenandoah Valley to work here, but we soon became your neighbors, and in many cases, your friends. We have raised our families here. We have coached your children’s teams, sat beside you in houses of worship, stood with you at the bus stop, and passed you in the grocery store. The Valley has not simply been where we worked. It has been our home.

As of September 30, 2026, our formal contract with Valley Health System will conclude. Some of our physicians have chosen to remain to provide continuity of care during this transition, and we are grateful for their continued dedication to this community. Many others, however, will be departing; not because we wished to leave, but because the circumstances that led to this outcome were ultimately shaped by forces and decisions outside of our control.

The decision to close this chapter was among the most difficult any of us has ever faced. We made it with heavy hearts, after exhausting every avenue available to preserve what we built together. What we can tell you with complete certainty is this: every provider whose name appears below came to work every day committed to giving you the best emergency care medicine has to offer. That will never change, regardless of where our paths lead next.

To the nurses, technicians, paramedics, scribes, registration staff, social workers, transporters, environmental services workers, unit clerks, radiology technologists, consulting physicians, firefighters, police officers, security officers, and to every member of the Valley Health team who worked alongside us through the years: you are our family. The countless hands and hearts that make emergency care possible rarely receive the recognition they deserve. You showed up, shift after shift, in the hardest of circumstances, and you made us better. This community is fortunate beyond measure to have each and every one of you.

We also wish to acknowledge with tremendous pride the family medicine residents and physician assistant students whom we have had the honor of teaching and mentoring over the years. You came to us at the threshold of your careers, and you trusted us to help shape the clinicians you would become. We never lost sight of that responsibility; we embraced it with humility and joy. The emergency department is among the most demanding and consequential classrooms in all of medicine, and you rose to meet it with courage, curiosity, and compassion. Wherever your careers have taken you, and wherever they lead you next, know that you carry a piece of this department and this community with you. We could not be more proud.

And to you, our patients, thank you. Thank you for welcoming us. Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for allowing us to be there for you when it mattered most. It has been the greatest honor of our lives.

With deepest gratitude and enduring respect,

The Physicians and APPs of Emergency Medicine of Blue Ridge

David Watts, MD-President

Ronak Shah, MD-Vice President

The EMBR Board of Directors

Steven Bauer, MD- Chief Medical Officer

Charles Christopher Turnbull, MD- Director, Winchester Medical Center Emergency Department

Hussein Zughaib, MD- Director, Warren Memorial Hospital Emergency Department

Eamon Harrigan, MD- Director, Shenandoah Memorial Hospital Emergency Department

Roland David Lee, MD- Director, Page Memorial Hospital Emergency Department

Cambria Baylor, MD, Director, War Memorial Hospital Emergency Department

Joseph Jordan, MD- Director, Hampshire Memorial Hospital Emergency Department

Aisha Ahmad, DO

Azhar Ahmed, MD

Muhammad Ali, DO

Gregory Allen, MD

Comfort Amoh-Tonto, MD

Masud Baksh, MD

Peter Baltusnik, MD

Vanessa Banks, DO

Wayne Jefferson Berry II, MD

Laura Burke, NP

Jillian Call, MD

Abigail Cerroni, DO

Raveena Chhabria, MD

Nick Cordova, PA-C

Micah Crouse, MD

Eugene Delaune, III, MD

Chad Dunn, MD

James Evans, MD

Antoneta Fitzpatrick, NP

Kent Folsom, MD

Calvin Funkhouser, DO

David Goldberg, MD

Michael Handrigan, MD

Abigail Hankin-Wei, MD

Samantha Hardy, PA-C

Eamon Harrigan, MD

Robert Lee Harvey, DO

Zachary He, MD

Michael Hendren, MD

Trudi Holt, MD

Elizabeth Huycke, DO

Michael Ilagan, MD

Leilani Johnson, PA-C

Joseph Jordan, MD

Hanan Kallash, NP

Kimberly Keith, MD

Joshua Kessler, DO

Caroline Keyser, PA-C

Michael Khafi, DO

Gregory Lamb, MD

Olivia Lee, PA

William Leskovec, MD

Gregory Loeb, MD

Lisa Lyons – Pianalto, MD

Kaie Manor, FNP-BC

Geoffrey Martin, MD

Janelle Martin, MD

Mauricio Martinez, MD

Stephen May, DO

Alexis McCabe, MD

Kevin McLaughlin, DO

Nathan McMurray, MD

Ankur Mehindru, DO

Richard Miles, PA-C

Brandon Miller, PA-C

Elizabeth Milton, MD

Melissa Myers, MD

Khanh Nguyen, PA-C

Samantha Noll, MD

Eniola Okelana, MD

Kyle Oldknow, FNP-C

Holly Parkins, PA-C

Matthew Payne, PA-C

Catherine Perry, MD

David Pianalto, MD

Rebecca Potterton, NP

Sarah Ramsay, MD

Nicole Rickabaugh, PA-C

Justin Rizer, MD

Jennifer Robertson, MD

David Rosie, DO

Shiva Sabet, PA

David Saenz, MD

Donna Saffaei, MD

Sonya Seccurro, MD

Nicholas Seward, PA-C

Ronak Shah, MD

Kevin Shanabrook, MD

Christopher Robby Shaw, MD

Furkan Shinaishin, MD

Jatinder Singh, MD

Rachael Smith, PA-C

Hashim Stanazai, MD

Qasim Stanazai, MD

Andrew Stern, DO

Douglas Stern, DO

Jessica Steward, NP

Brian Terzian, PA-C

John Tucker, MD

Sanaa Uddin, DO

Adam Uslan, DO

Donald Van Wie Jr, DO

Albert Villarosa, MD

Jane Wang, MD