Leadership

Richard Sankary, MD has been in practice since 1988. He received his BA in Biophysics with highest honors from UC Berkeley and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Parkland Memorial Hospital/Southwestern Medical School and subsequently completed fellowship training in Pulmonary Medicine at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at UCSF. Dr. Sankary is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonology, and Sleep Medicine.

Dean Nickles, MD, FACP graduated with honors from West Point and received his medical education at West Virginia University. He completed his residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. He also specializes in critical care. Interests include swimming and cycling. Dr. Nickles is also a fan of Oakland’s athletic teams. His approach to medical care focuses on physical and emotional health and well-being, with an emphasis on disease prevention and healthy lifestyle.

Robert Santos, MD has been in private practice since 1985. His interest in medicine is associated with an accident sustained during his undergraduate studies. He suffered a complex fractured cervical vertebrae. This prompted his desire to apply his scientific interests to help others. He is Division Leader of ValleyCare Physicians Associates. He served in the US Public Health Service and did thyroid research at the National Institutes of Health. His clinical interests focus on maximizing preventative medicine (especially hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and heart disease), as well as diabetes, thyroid disorders, and psycho-social wellness. He enjoys spending time with his family, snow skiing, kayaking, stand-up paddling, art and art history, classical guitar, and music from hip-hop to opera.

Anand Mehta, MD practices internal medicine and endocrinology in Bay Valley Division’s Hayward and Danville offices. He attended the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine at the New York University, School of Medicine. He completed his fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Mehta is board-certified in internal medicine and endocrinology. He is fluent in English and Gujarati, and conversant in Spanish. Dr. Mehta joined Bay Valley Medical Group in 2012. In his spare time, Dr. Mehta enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and playing tennis.

Carrie Duffy, MD attended Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and graduated with an Osteopathic Medical degree. After completing her core clerkships in Bronx, New York, she made her way back to Fresno, California where she has spent the past four years completing her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology through the University of California San Francisco. She joined Ob/Gyn Partners for Health in September 2012. Training as an Osteopathic physician lends itself well to the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The main emphasis is a patient-centered, holistic approach that takes into account all aspects of a person’s health as well as their emotional and spiritual needs. For more information about Osteopathic Medicine, please visit www.aacom.org. Dr. Duffy grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and received a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Saint Mary’s College of California.

John Carper, MD, FAAFP, received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and went to medical school at UC San Francisco. He did his Family Practice residency training at San Pedro Peninsula Hospital and Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Special medical interests include Obstetrics and Newborn Care, diabetes and care of multi generational families. He and his family have enjoyed being part of the Alameda community since joining Alameda Family Physicians in 1992.

Angela Deftos leads all elements of the medical group’s business and people strategy with the goal of transforming the care delivery model as part of Stanford Health Care (SHC). She is responsible for developing the people strategy to support a coordinated strategic plan and is accountable for deploying the medical group elements of key strategic business initiatives of the health system. Prior to joining the organization, she worked for Kaiser Permanente (KP) for 7 years in various leadership roles in human resource management, human capital strategy, and mergers and acquisition. Before, KP, she also held leadership roles in other healthcare organizations – Tenet Health Care System and Good Samaritan Hospital in Southern California. She is a licensed Registered Nurse in the State of California, a certified Human Capital Strategist, a Six Sigma Black Belt, and has both Masters and Doctorate Degree in Business Administration. She lives in Los Gatos California with her husband who is a Physician (Pathologist) at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and their two boys who are both middle schoolers. When not at work, she loves to paint, hike, stand-up paddle board, surf, and ski.

Charlene Reimnitz, MD, FACS, FACOG practices obstetrics, gynecology, and pelvic reconstructive surgery. Her subspecialty interests are minimally invasive surgery and urogynecology. She is experienced in single-site and multiport robotic surgery as well as advanced pelvic reconstructive vaginal surgery. In addition to her surgical and obstetric practice, she treats urinary stress incontinence, menopause, and uterine disorders. She is married and has two children.

Martin Rubenstein, MD holds BS and MD degrees from Stanford University. He also completed internal medicine internship and residency, and a hematology fellowship at Stanford, then entered private practice in San Jose area in 1981. He was a founding partner of Southbay Oncology Hematology Partners, a subspecialty practice with 5 hematologists and oncologists. The practice was acquired by University Healthcare Alliance in 2013, where Dr. Rubenstein continued to practice hematology until 2014. During that time he was involved in the planning for and development of Stanford’s Cancer Center South Bay. Dr. Rubenstein also served as Medical Director of the Cancer Program, Chairman of the Department of Medicine and President of the Medical Staff of O’Connor Hospital during his career. After retirement from clinical practice, Dr. Rubenstein has continued on with Stanford Health Care and UHA as a Medical Director where he serves as a member of the Cancer Service Line leadership group. In his spare time, Dr. Rubenstein enjoys travel, golf, and cross-country skiing.

Robert Norman, MD is board certified in Family Medicine. He has interest and experience in all aspects of medical care and sees patients of all ages. Dr. Norman is particularly interested in helping patients maintain good health and the prevention of medical problems through promotion of healthy lifestyle choices such as exercise and healthy eating.
Dr. Norman also holds the position of voluntary clinical professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and frequently has medical students with him in the office with permission from patients.

For fun and fitness, Dr. Norman swims or works out daily. He especially likes swimming in the cold of winter! He enjoys gardening and always welcomes gardening tips from his patients.