Our providers offer you quick, convenient, high-quality care right here in town. We’ve recently expanded, with more providers and extended clinic and physical therapy hours, to serve you better whether you are in Lake County full time or commute out of the area.
Gary Petry, MD
Family Medicine Specialist, Emergency Physician, Hospitalist
St. Vincent Hospital welcomed Dr. Gary Petry to the Leadville Medical Clinic in 2013. He pursued his medical degree at Kansas University of Medicine from 1994 to 1998. His residency followed at Smokey Hill Family Practice in Salina, where he specialized in Rural Family Medicine. In 2001 Dr. Petry was employed by Geary Community Hospital in Junction City, Kansas, as a family practice physician, working in both areas of inpatient and outpatient care. He began working in the emergency room in 2008.
“I moved to Leadville because of my hobbies and my enthusiasm for mountain recreation. I have vacationed regularly in Lake County. At the same time, I am committed to quality rural health care and don’t believe ‘rural healthcare’ means ‘less healthcare,’” said Petry. When asked what concerns him about health issues, Petry replied, “the epidemic of obesity, childhood obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome concern me greatly. I look forward to working with St. Vincent Hospital, and my colleagues at the clinic to promote better health for Lake County.”
Lisa Zwerdlinger, MD
Chief of Medical Staff, Hospitalist, Emergency Medicine, Primary Care
Dr. Lisa is the Medical Chief of Staff at St. Vincent Hospital. She cares for patients in the emergency room and as the hospitalist for inpatients. She grew up in Colorado. Dr. Lisa was educated at the University of Colorado for undergraduate, medical school and residency training. She is board certified in family practice and is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Health Science Center of Medicine. Her passion for living and playing in the mountains brought her to Leadville. She is an avid mountain biker, rock climber, ice climber, and backcountry skier. Dr. Lisa has coauthored many articles and studies on high altitude physiology. Dr. Lisa is the Physician Advisor for the local search and rescue group, High Mountain Institute, and assists Outward Bound with backcountry medical advice.
She currently holds privileges at St. Vincent Hospital and at St. Anthony’s Summit Medical Center in Frisco Colorado.
Taryn Barrette, MMS, PA-C,
St. Vincent Medical Clinic
Taryn is a primary care provider at St. Vincent Medical Clinic. She is passionate about providing a complete care approach tailored to the needs of each patient. “I always try to treat the whole patient,” says Barrette. “I want to know who you are, where you are from and what your goals are for yourself. I want to work with each person individually to maximize what they believe health to be. I focus on mental health, physical health, and preventive health at the same time.” Taryn started her medical career as a registered dietitian, where her passion for preventative care formed. “After working for almost 2 years as an RD doing research and consulting in nursing homes, I felt that the best place for me to be if I wanted to engage in preventive medicine was to be in primary care. I found the best way to get there was through P.A. school,” Taryn says. “Being in primary care and having a nutrition background is a great way to mingle health care with prevention.” Originally from California, Taryn has also called Massachusetts, Arizona and Utah home. Taryn, along with husband, Bill, and her dog, Toby, are overjoyed to be part of Leadville – and the wealth of outdoor activities the community offers. “I am so excited to be part of a tight-knit, small community. I love the idea of being an integral part of a group of people working towards a common goal.” Taryn adds, “And of course, I am drawn to Lake County’s amazing outdoors and mountains.” Taryn is accepting patients at the clinic located at 822 W 4th Street, Leadville, CO 80461.
Dr. Paul Wardlaw
Paul Wardlaw, MD
Emergency Medicine
Paul Wardlaw, MD grew up in Oregon as a preacher’s kid. He pursued his undergraduate work at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Then medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon graduating in 1971. After an internship at Kansas City General Hospital, he enlisted in the U.S. Public Health Service and spent four years working on the Yakima Nation Reservation in Yakima, Washington. He became board certified in family medicine in 1975.
Dr. Wardlaw and his wife have been married for 50 years and have 3 sons. They moved to Africa in 1976 for nine years where he worked in a 300-bed mission hospital before returning to the U.S. to live in 1985 and settling into a family practice for several years in Olathe, KS, a suburb of Kansas City. Dr. Wardlaw became medical director for 16 clinics with 60 physicians for the Olathe Health System from 1994 to 2006. Since that time he has worked as a fill-in physician for a physician staffing organization called Docs Who Care this has led him to experience many small rural communities in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and now, Colorado. He and his wife moved to Silverthorne, CO 3 years ago and he soon joined St. Vincent Hospital – when looking for opportunities to not lay down his stethoscope – just yet.
Dr. Wardlaw enjoys his association with St. Vincent Hospital because of the very positive changes he has seen and the great benefit to this community. He is passionate about staying up to date with medicine. The Wardlaws sing in the Summit Choral Society and are also actively involved at Dillon Community Church.
Heather Wilson Damon, MHS, PA-C,
Emergency Medicine
Heather has the unique distinction of having been born and raised in Leadville, Colorado. After receiving her BA in Kinesiology from University of Colorado, and completing graduate studies to receive her MHS in Physician Assistant Studies from Quinnipiac University in 2001, Heather worked in Connecticut & Pennsylvania after school for 5 years in Emergency Medicine at level 1 trauma centers, returning to Leadville in 2006. With a commitment to rural healthcare, Heather always has the community in her thoughts. Heather enjoys skiing, running and spending time with her two children.
Joette Eyser, MS NP-C RNFA CNOR,
Emergency Medicine, Lead of Provider Services
Joette is a board-certified nurse practitioner at St. Vincent Hospital Emergency Department. She claims her hometown as Leadville although she grew up in Cupertino, California. She has a Master’s Degree in Science, Family Nurse Practitioner. Joette worked as an RN for 31 years before graduating with a 4.0 GPA and honors from Regis University. Joette has worked in Urgent care, OB/Gyn, Primary Care, and Emergency Room as an NP. She has a love for working in the ER and is working on becoming fluent in Spanish. Focusing on her husband of 21 years and her children, Joette values the small town atmosphere of Lake County and the ability to get to know people more personally in rural healthcare. The Eyser’s are involved in volunteering for Lion’s Club, Lake County Search and Rescue, Red Cross, 9 Health Fair, Church and school fundraising. They love the beauty of this area. already possess. St. Vincent Hospital has a special place in Joette’s heart and she envisions a long and happy tenure here.
Kelsey Kuehn, PT, DPT, CSCS
Physical Therapy
Kelsey Kuehn, PT, DPT is a native of Oklahoma. She attended The University of Oklahoma for her undergraduate schooling, and then she moved to north-west Texas to earn her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Hardin-Simmons University in 2015. Her love for the outdoors quickly drew her to Colorado, living in Colorado Springs prior to moving to the area. Her primary experience is in manual physical therapy techniques including visceral techniques, but she also brings a solid background in general orthopedics, wound care and neurological impairments such as spinal cord injuries, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Kelsey is able to work with clients to improve their athletic performance – something that she is passionate about. Kelsey loves the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, camping and rock climbing. She is rarely without her camera and is an avid nature and wildlife photographer.
Kelsey’s love for travel has taken her to several countries, and she is fluent in Spanish.
David Cimino, PT, DPT
David Cimino, PT, DPT
Physical Therapy
Dave has always valued an active lifestyle and wants to enable individuals to stay active for as long as they desire. He loves working directly with individuals and values assisting them to improve their quality of life.
His roots are from New York and Long Island, N.Y. but a passion for the outdoors led Dave to Colorado over seven years ago. When Dave is not at work he is often spending time outdoors alpine skiing, mountain biking, or taking his dog on a hike. He can also be found watching sports or playing ice hockey.
Dave taught the recent winter sports conditioning class at St. Vincent Hospital. He and Kelsey Kuehn, PT, DPT, the physical therapy department manager, hope to bring more conditioning classes to Leadville and Lake County in the future.
Education: Northeastern University in Boston, MA
Family: Girlfriend, “Bizzy”, and Labradoodle “Hootie.”
Favorite Mountain Moments: Backcountry skiing, hut trips, and participating in several endurance ski-mountaineering races.
Philosophy: “I feel it is our role to be a patient advocate, teach our patients to advocate for themselves and provide a supportive environment. I’d like St. Vincent Hospital grow as a place people come to, not because they are sick, but because they hope to remain healthy.”
Cliff Davis, PA-C
Emergency Medicine
As a former Flight Paramedic and Flight Nurse, Cliff has been drawn to working in rural areas and Critical Access Hospitals because of the challenges and rewards they present. Born in Montana, Cliff and his wife Marilyn moved the family to Colorado 2 and half years ago, to obtain better services for their 14-year-old son, who has severe autism.
Cliff completed his Physician Assistant studies in Billings, Montana, at Rocky Mountain College, where he graduated summa cum laude.
“I enjoy people and enjoy making a difference in an often unpleasant and scary experience. My goal is partly to make an emergency room visit more pleasant for the patient,” commented Cliff.
Cliff and Marilyn enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, he enjoys landscape and outdoor photography and cooking.
What Cliff likes most about Leadville and Lake County, is that the area, and the people, remind me very much of Montana. Rocky Mountain communities can be very similar in their health care needs and Cliff knows he can be of service in Leadville and Lake County.
His philosophy regarding work is to make a concerted effort to have a team approach to caring for people. He welcomes, asks for, expects and respects input from all of the hospital team, regardless of title.
Cliff incorporates lessons and experiences from his prior careers and interactions with others, to treat others the way he would want to be treated.
Peter Lemis, MD FACC – Visiting Specialist
Cardiology
Dr. Peter Lemis is a board-certified cardiologist at Summit Cardiology. Prior to joining Centura Health, Dr. Lemis was a partner at Jefferson Cardiology Association in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he has been in private practice for almost 30 years. Board-certified in both internal medicine and cardiovascular medicine, Dr. Lemis earned his medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. He completed his internal medicine residency at Long Island Jewish – Hillside Medical Center, New Hyde Park, New York. Following his residency, he completed a clinical cardiology fellowship at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. When it comes to treating patients, Dr. Lemis believes in treating patients like people, not just as an illness or a medical problem. He uses the most advanced medical knowledge to provide compassionate, supportive care as he helps patients work towards better health.
