What is a Hospitalist?

Expert Inpatient Care. Coordinated Around You.

When you’re admitted to Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, our Hospitalist team is here to oversee your care from admission through discharge. Hospitalists are physicians and advanced practice providers who specialize in caring for hospitalized patients. Because they are in the hospital throughout the day, they can quickly respond to changes in your condition, coordinate with specialists, and keep your care moving forward.

Focused on Your Care While You’re in the Hospital

A hospitalist is a healthcare provider whose practice is dedicated exclusively to caring for patients during their hospital stay. Unlike your primary care provider, hospitalists are available throughout the day to monitor your condition, review test results, adjust treatments, communicate with specialists, and answer questions from you and your family.

When you’re ready to go home, your hospitalist works closely with your primary care provider to ensure they receive a complete summary of your hospitalization, treatment, medications and follow-up recommendations so your care continues seamlessly after discharge.

Hospitalist Mission: To efficiently coordinate, and provide high-value, compassionate health care to hospitalized patient at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center preventing complications and improving outcomes through an interprofessional team approach.

Hospitalist Vision: We aim to be recognized as one of the more dynamic, dependable, and elite community hospitalist programs through a commitment to outstanding patient care, satisfaction and culture of interprofessional collaboration.

How Our Hospitalists Care for You

Daily Care & Monitoring
Your hospitalist evaluates your condition each day, manages medications, reviews lab work and imaging, and adjusts your treatment plan as needed.

Coordinated Team-Based Care
Hospitalists work closely with specialists, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, case managers and your primary care provider to ensure every aspect of your care is coordinated.

Communication with You & Your Family
Our team takes time to explain diagnoses, treatment options and next steps while answering questions throughout your hospital stay.

Safe Discharge Planning
Before you leave the hospital, your hospitalist coordinates medications, follow-up appointments, rehabilitation or home health needs, and communicates your hospitalization to your primary care provider.

Meet Our Hospitalist Team

Juan Arenas, MD, CPE, CHCQM-PHYADV, FABQAURP
Board Certified in Internal Medicine
Board Certified in Health Care Quality & Management

Dr. Arenas is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He completed medical school and residency as a general surgeon in Venezuela. After moving to the United States, he spent two years as a research fellow at Wake Forest in North Carolina, followed by a second residency in Internal Medicine at Texas Tech University. Dr. Arenas serves as the Medical Director of the hospitalist group.

Joshua Cain, MSN, NP
Board-certified in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care

Joshua Cain, NP, is a board-certified Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and earned his Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is board certified through both the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). Joshua provides expert inpatient care, bringing advanced clinical knowledge and a commitment to delivering high-quality care to hospitalized patients.

MaKenzi Forman, MHS, PA-C
Certified Physician Assistant, Master in Health Science

Makenzi Forman is a certified physician assistant who received her medical degree at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. MaKenzi is highly skilled in various specialties including pediatrics, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, primary care, and mental health; bringing a wealth of knowledge to GRMC.

Alley Goyer, DO
Board Certified in Family Medicine

Alley Goyer, DO has dual degrees in Molecular Biology and Chemistry from Texas Lutheran University and a medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Science Center – Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her residency experience, particularly in the ICU, solidified her interest in hospital medicine. She is board certified in Family Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine.

Stephen Hagberg, MD
Board Certified in Family Medicine

Stephen Hagberg, MD, completed his residency at Eglin Hospital, FL, where he was recognized as Resident of the Year. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Grove City College, PA, with majors in Molecular Biology and Psychology.

Sarah Lester, MD
Board Certified in Family Medicine

Board Certified in Family Medicine, Dr. Lester completed her residency at John Peter Smith in Fort Worth, completing her years of Texas-based education as a National Merit Scholar, a magna cum laude graduate of Texas A&M, and medical school at University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) in San Antonio. Dr. Lester is rooted in the community and takes pride in caring for patients.

Sivaram Neppala, MD
Board Certified in Internal Medicine

Sivaram Neppala, MD is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and completed his medical degree at Katuri Medical college & Hospital in India. He then went on to complete his internal medicine residency at the University of Incarnate Word.

Russell Steitle, MSN, FNP-C

With over 20-years of clinical nursing and leadership experience, Russel Steitle, FNP has worked at the bedside in critical care areas such as the ICU, ER and Interventional Radiology. Recognizing that patients in the hospital often have more complex and higher-level needs, Russell felt called to advance his clinical education. This path ultimately led him to where he could share his expertise and compassion with the patients he has dedicated his career to serving.

Frequently Asked Questions