ROD MILLINGTON
Clearwater native Tracie Lawson is president
of Physician Partners of America.
company’s new interventional pain management clinic in
Boynton Beach, and then she was off to a planning meeting
in Merritt Island, Florida.
Lawson’s passion is as contagious as her energy. Her PPOA
associates describe her as an energetic, hands-on leader who
is happy to change out her business suits for nursing scrubs
and see patients when a brand new clinic opens.
The pace is not about to let up for Lawson and her team. In
early 2018, the company began performing minimally invasive
laser spine procedures and added new pain management
practices in Wellington, Jacksonville and Orange Park. It is
also about to launch all-in-one medical pavilions in Orlando
and Merritt Island.
PPOA has positioned itself as a change agent in the opioid
epidemic, and getting the word out about interventional
approaches to pain management is never far from Lawson’s
mind. “Fighting the opioid issue is really at the heart of what
we do,” she said. “Opioids aren’t going away, but there are
methods to treat pain without creating addiction that can
end in death. Doctors need to offer a balanced approach to
health care.”
While most executives preach work-life balance, the many
spheres of Tracie Lawson’s life seem to blend seamlessly. “We
represent a world-class health care company. But I’m also a
mom and happy that my son introduced me to the nonprofit
organization Metropolitan Ministries,” she says, so she plans
to give every employee at PPOA a day off each year to help
out in the community organization of their choice.
MAY/JUNE 2018 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 91
Tracie Lawson, President
Physician Partners of America
By Cindy Cockburn
Physician Partners of America (PPOA) is the nationally
recognized health care company headquartered in Tampa
that has been in the headlines recently for its extraordinary
expansion throughout Florida and Texas. PPOA, which is
known as a world-class leader in health care, has grown from
three employees to over 500 in four years. Physicians across
America are eager to learn how this fast-growing national health
care company on Florida’s west coast can help strengthen their
doctor-patient relationships.
Clearwater native Tracie Lawson, MBA, MSN, ARNP-C,
was recently named the company’s president. She was part
of the team that created PPOA in 2013, and has served as its
chief operations officer since 2015. She gracefully oversees
hundreds of employees, associates, doctors and managers
in both Florida and Texas. The company plans to continue to
grow with its corporate vision to offer a “one stop” medical
pavilion experience.
Lawson takes the helm of the company founded by Rodolfo
Gari, M.D., MBA, in the middle of a high-growth phase. In
less than four years, PPOA has opened 21 interventional pain
management practices, including five in the Tampa Bay area;
plus five AAAHC-accredited ambulatory surgery centers;
COLA-certified qualitative and DNA testing laboratories; a
primary care facility; and practices in orthopedics, personal
injury, psychology and Workers’ Compensation.
Health care has consistently been her focus. She became
interested in health care at a young age, entering a program at
Clearwater High School that enabled her to become a certified
nursing assistant while still a student. She earned a Master’s
of Science in nursing from the University of South Florida
and obtained her certification as an adult nurse practitioner.
She later earned her MBA from the University of Phoenix and
completed a master’s course in private equity at the London
Business School. She is a certified health care risk manager in the
state of Florida as well as a certified professional coder (CPC).
Lawson’s interest in the business side of health care was
sparked while working as a nurse for Dr. Gari’s first medical
business venture, the Tampa Pain Relief Clinic, in 2001. “He
said if you wanted to grow in the business side of health care,
you need to get a business degree,” she recalled. At one point,
she was pursuing two master’s-level degrees in both nursing
and business administration.
Her role as president demands a frantic schedule. In just
one week in March, she attended the American Society of
Interventional Pain Physicians annual meeting in Orlando
with other members of the executive team. A day later, she
was smiling for the cameras during a ribbon cutting for the
Tracie Lawson, president
Physician Partners of America, LLC
4730 N. Habana Ave., Suite 204, Tampa | O: 813-549-2134 F: 813-870-1383
PhysicianPartnersOfAmerica.com