Faculty Find a Location Find a Doctor Family Medicine Residency Training Benefits and Compensation Contact Us and Application About Our Region From Our President and CEO Faculty Third Year Residents Second Year Residents First Year Residents Dr. William L. Stafford, Jr. Program Director Dr. William L. Stafford, Jr. serves as Program Director for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency. He is a 1981 graduate of the University of Virginia, School of Medicine and completed his family medicine residency at Roanoke Memorial Hospitals in Virginia. Prior to joining the St. Elizabeth faculty in 2001, Dr. Stafford practiced in both Covington and Edgewood, as well as community health centers in rural Appalachia and the inner city. Dr. Stafford holds a certificate of added qualifications in geriatrics, which is his particular field of interest. He also serves as medical director at several local nursing homes. Aside from geriatrics, Dr. Stafford is interested in learning more about pain management, medical ethical issues, terminal care and the physician-patient relationship. Outside of medicine, his interests include building and modifying home computers, computer gaming, science fiction, cooking and racquetball. Dr. Donald Swikert Assistant Director and Second Year Coordinator Dr. Donald Swikert served as director of the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency program from 1997 to June 2014. He currently serves as the Second Year Coordinator. A native of Northern Kentucky, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and his medical degree from the University of Louisville, School of Medicine. He completed his residency at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Previously, Dr. Swikert has served as president of the St. Luke Hospitals medical staff, the Northern Kentucky Medical Society, Primary Care Associates, the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians and the Kentucky Medical Association. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Kentucky Medical Association Legislative Quick Action Committee and as such he is active in the legislative process affecting all physicians. Over the course of his career, Dr. Swikert has been fortunate to work with, teach, and learn from many talented resident physicians. He appreciates that St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency is a comprehensive program that emphasizes both personal and professional development of each resident physician – a philosophy he wholeheartedly supports. Dr. Swikert and his wife, Nancy, have two grown children, Kevin and Montine. He looks forward to more rewarding years with the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency – teaching and learning from talented resident physicians. Dr. Mary Ann Barnes Assistant Director & Third Year Coordinator Dr. Mary Ann Barnes serves as Assistant Director and Third Year Coordinator for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency. She is a graduate of both Thomas More College and the University of Louisville Medical School. She completed her residency at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Since joining the faculty of the residency program in 1989, Dr. Barnes has been privileged to share with residents ongoing experiences at a local homeless clinic, teaching domestic violence in Ukraine and doing medical mission work with the Mestizo and Mayan people of Belize. In addition to public health and social justice, Dr. Barnes is especially interested in women's health and complementary medicine. She also has additional training in medical acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Dr. Barnes is the author of Fat Cells, Beauty and You! An Exploration of the Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Dimensions of Weight Management for a Lifetime. Dr. Barnes considers some of her greatest blessings in life to be her husband, Tim Boyle, and their four children, Bryan, Shannon, Lauren and Mark. Dr. Chris Zowtiak Assistant Director and First Year Coordinator Dr. Chris Zowtiak serves as an Assistant Director for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency and the Medical Student Clerkship Director. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she obtained her bachelor of arts in psychology. While at college, Dr. Zowtiak also pursued studies in cultural anthropology. This interest took her to Papua New Guinea in 1998 to study Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the setting of natural disasters. She subsequently became interested in social justice, cultural competence and ethics in medicine and completed her post-baccalaureate premedical studies at Bryn Mawr College before earning her MD from Georgetown University in Washington DC. Dr. Zowtiak completed her rural residency training at Oregon Health & Science University/Cascades East Family Medicine Residency Program in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Following residency, she practiced full-spectrum clinical family medicine (including hospitalist work and non-operative obstetrics) and also served as an adjunct professor of Family Medicine at the Cascades East Family Medicine Residency program for three years. Her areas of focused interest in that capacity were maternal-child health, health policy and advocacy, social justice, end of life care, mental health and reproductive healthcare. Dr. Zowtiak is originally from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area, and several of her family members still live here. So, it’s no surprise that after initial practice in Oregon, she decided to return to this area and join the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency team. After 30 years away from home, she is thrilled and honored to be back, teaching future generations of family physicians and caring for the Northern Kentucky community. Along with her husband and their three little boys, Dr. Zowtiak brings with her an enduring passion for maternal-child health, non-operative obstetrics, mental health, sexual health, social justice and working with undergraduate medical students. Dr. Karl Schmitt Assistant Director Dr. Karl Schmitt serves as Assistant Director for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency. He is a graduate of Kenyon College where he played soccer for four years. He then went on to the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine and following graduation, completed his family medicine residency at St. Elizabeth in 1993. Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Schmitt joined a broad spectrum Family Medicine practice in Northern Kentucky where he found himself increasingly more interested in participating in residency and fellowship training. He joined the faculty at St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency, and continued to practice part-time. Throughout this time, he has continued to play and coach soccer, and has provided sports medicine services to multiple sports. He is a Board-Certified Family Physician, Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM). Dr. Schmitt presently serves as past-president of the medical staff of St. Elizabeth Healthcare and Medical Director of Quality for St Elizabeth Physicians – a 300+ physician multi-specialty group serving Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. Dr. Kimberly A. Vormbrock Assistant Director Dr. Kimberly A. Vormbrock serves as part-time faculty for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine where she earned her medical degree. Following a transitional internship served at St. Mary’s Health Services in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr. Vormbrock completed her family medicine residency at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. Following residency, Dr. Vormbrock completed the OB fellowship at St. Elizabeth Healthcare and then entered full time practice. She has a family medicine practice in Edgewood and also provides OB care one day each week at the Family Practice Center. Dr. Allana Oak Director of Obstetric Fellowship Dr. Allana Oak serves as Director of Obstetric Fellowship for St. Elizabeth Healthcare. She earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown College and her medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency and OB fellowship at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. She grew up in Kenova, West Virginia and is still a big fan of the Thundering Herd of Marshall University. After a couple of years in private practice in rural eastern Kentucky, Dr. Oak returned to St. Elizabeth’s residency program as a faculty member. She has also served as president of the Kentucky Perinatal Association and has a special interest in the prevention of pre-term birth. She considers being on-call with residents and covering the OB unit one of her favorite aspects of her position. Dr. Oak and her husband, David, have two daughters, Lindsey and Kennedy, and a son Wyatt. They are very active in their children’s school, as well as church and community activities. She is a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan – even through the worst of times. Outside of medicine, she also loves water sports, photography, scrap booking and computers. Dr. Ward Rice Director of Neonatology Dr. Ward Rice serves as Director of Neonatology for St. Elizabeth Healthcare. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, Medical School. He completed his pediatric residency at Duke University and his neonatal fellowship training at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Childrens' Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Ward has been actively involved with St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency for many years. He considers teaching and being able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with residents, covering newborn care some of his favorite aspects of his position. Dr. Ward works with three other Neonatologists from Cincinnati Childrens' Hospital Medical Center to manage St. Elizabeth’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Here – with the full support of St. Elizabeth’s neonatal staff – residents care for babies who range in size from 1,000 – 5,000 grams. Residents also manage care for normal-term infants on the OB unit. Dr. Nick Messinger, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, CDE Director of Pharmacy Education Dr. Nick Messinger serves as the Director of Pharmacy Education for the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency and provides direct patient care at the St. Elizabeth Family Practice Center. He is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice and administrative sciences at the University of Cincinnati Winkle College of Pharmacy. He received his bachelor of science in biochemistry/biology at Mount St. Joseph University in 2008 and subsequently received his doctor of pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati Winkle College of Pharmacy in 2012. Dr. Messinger completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in 2013 and a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency at the Five Rivers Health Centers in Dayton, Ohio in 2014. He is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS), Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist (BCACP) and a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). Dr. Messinger's areas of interest are ambulatory care pharmacy practice, diabetes care, wellness and preventive care, and pharmacy education. He serves on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) New Practitioners Forum Executive Committee. John Stewart Administrative Director John Stewart is the Administrative Director for St. Elizabeth Family Practice Center and the Residency Program. He grew up in Washington, Pennsylvania, a town about 25 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and his graduate degree from the University of Louisville. He and his wife live in northern Kentucky where they raised their three sons. Prior to joining the residency program, John worked for several years in medical group management in Greater Cincinnati serving as a primary care group practice administrator. He also spent time working on the health insurance side with a medical management subsidiary of Anthem. John enjoys discussing practice management matters with residents and assisting them in evaluating practice opportunities after graduation. John is a member of the American College of Medical Practice Executives, where he has achieved fellow status. He participates in local and national Medical Group Management Associations, St Elizabeth System committees and manages an employer sponsored near site primary care clinic. Cindy Loney Residency Program Coordinator Cindy Loney serves as the Residency Program Coordinator for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati where she earned her bachelor of arts in German Studies. Her academic career included multiple study abroad opportunities. In the role of Program Coordinator, Cindy assists the Program Director with the day-to-day administration of the program requirements, and tracking and reporting program data to governing graduate medical education entities. She is also responsible for program recruitment and the oversight of medical student rotations. Cindy has worked in both the public and private sectors throughout her career. Prior to joining the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency program, she worked for St. Elizabeth Physicians as a credentialing coordinator. Kay O'Meara Clinical Coordinator Kay O'Meara serves as Clinical Coordinator for St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency. She is a registered nurse who started her career at Children's Hospital Medical Center. A caregiver at heart she was drawn to nursing and its variety of patient care settings. She has worked with all ages throughout her career. She is passionate about teamwork and enjoys seeing the Residents grow as Physicians.