Welcome to Our Practice

Dr. Medina graduated from the Pedro Henriquez Ureña National University in the Dominican Republic in 1985. He then completed an Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at the Oncology Institute Department of Health, and the Salvador B. Gautier Hospital (affiliated with the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In order to further his training, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where, from 1988 to 1991, he completed an Externship, Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn.

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Dr. Medina-Smester graduated Magna Cum Laude from The University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Cellular Biology. He was a Betty Wray Scholar at the Medical College of Georgia and completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami Hospital/Miami VA, as well as his Fellowship in Sleep Disorders.

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Dr. Juan C Guarderas, MD, joined Maranatha Medical Plaza in January 2021. He is original from Quito, Ecuador, and attended Medical School at the University of El Salvador, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He did his residency in Internal Medicine at the East Tennessee State University and his fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He practiced Allergy and Immunology for 22 years at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, where he became the director of the Department. In 2014, he was invited to put together an Allergy program with the Department of Medicine of the University of Florida, and directed that program for 3 years, a program that has been very successful in-patient care, research and education. Dr. Guarders retired from that position in February 2018.

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Christy Brown, a Georgia native, graduated with an ADN in 1995 from Jefferson Community College in Watertown, NY. She received her BSN and MSN from Valdosta State University in 2005 and 2013, respectively. Christy worked at SGMC from 1995-2013 in a variety of nursing and leadership roles focusing in critical care and cardiology and later worked briefly at Valdosta Family Medicine. Christy joined Maranatha Medical Clinic in March of 2014.

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Melanie Eller Lindsey, Certified Family Nurse Practitioner joined the Maranatha Medical Clinic staff in February 2019. She graduated with her Associate of Science in Nursing in 1980, Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 1995, and Masters of Science in Nursing in 1996 from Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi. Board-certified through American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Family Nurse Practitioner and a Medical/Surgical Nurse. 

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Elliot Ortiz has years of experience as a Respiratory Therapist and serves as the Chief Technologist of REM Sleep Centers. He has overseen our labs in multiple cities throughout Georgia and has organized the implementation of REM Sleep Centers into Florida and the Dominican Republic.

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