Our Doctors:
Dr LaDuca will become CPMG’s head physician in July, 2023. She comes to us from more than 15 years in academia, teaching new physicians at the Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Residency program. She is fantastically overqualified to run our little clinic but has amazing ideas and plans. She is brilliant, experienced, wise and compassionate. She is committed to her future role as the “community doctor” and sees each patient as a complete individual. She believes in wellness and health, not just treating disease. She is trained in “Lifestyle Medicine”, amongst numerous other accomplishments. She and her husband already own a home in Paso Robles and she is excited to be moving full-time to the Central Coast.
Her bio includes the following, incomplete listing, as her accomplishments are too numerous to list here:
- Chapman University, Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude
- USC School of Medicine
- Dean’s scholar
- Pluma primary care award
- Family Medicine Residency, Long Beach Memorial resident teaching award
- chief administrative resident
- Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine Fellowship
- MemorialCare Leadership Fellowship
- Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg School of Public Health Institute in Tropical Medicine and Public Health Program
- Director of Inpatient Medicine Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Residency
- Associate Program Director Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Residency
- Global Health / International Medicine– projects in Vietnam and Peru (ongoing)
- Personal interests include traveling, participating in marathons and triathlons, cooking, skiing, boating, hiking and pretty much anything outdoors
We are confident that her leadership at CPMG will benefit all of us and help make CPMG the best primary care office in the county, if not the state. Dr LaDuca is seeing patients the majority of the days at CPMG and we cannot wait for you all to get to know her and share her passion for complete health.
MEDICAL TRAINING
Fellowship:
o Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine Fellowship, 2019
o MemorialCare Leadership Fellowship, 2017
o Johns Hopkins, Bloomberg school of public Health, institute of tropical medicine and public health, 2011-2012
Residency: Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine, graduated June 2003
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Associate Program Director, Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program, January 1, 2018 to present
Director of Inpatient Medicine, Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine
Residency Program, 2009-2018
Los Alamitos Centers for Family Medicine, Los Alamitos, CA, 2003- 2009, practicing full spectrum family medicine
HONORS AND AWARDS
The Munzer Family Award, Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Teaching and Research, 2021
Humanitarian and Professional contribution award, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, 2013
Resident teaching award, 2003
Chief Administrative Resident, 2002-2003
Dean's Scholar, USC School of Medicine, 1998-2000
Piuma Primary Care Award, USC School of Medicine, 1999
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Case presentation, CAFP Family Medicine Summit, April 13, 2018
Fostering Family Medicine in Northern Vietnam, Poster Presentation, AAFP
Global Health Workshop, 2013
Keynote speaker, Hospital Ministro Costa Cavalcanti, Global Health in Primary Care
Conference, Foz do Iguaçu, May 21, 2012
MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
California Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Family Physicians
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE/LEADERSHIP
Vice Chief of Staff, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, 2020-present
Chair, Joint Quality Review Committee, 2020-present
Chair, Council for performance improvement, 2020-present
GME pilot program, Alto Cayma, Peru, 2019-present
Collaborated with Health Bridges International and John Muir family medicine residency program to develop and demonstrate a community-based family medicine residency training model.
Bioethics Committee member 2010-present
Multidisciplinary Physician Excellence Committee member, 2016-2020
Department Chair, family medicine, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, 2015-2019
Curriculum Coordinator, Cao Bang, Vietnam, 2013-2019
Collaborated with Good Samaritan Medical Dental Mission to develop and implement a three-year longitudinal, primary care curriculum to train local physicians in Northern Vietnam.
Vice Department Chair, family medicine, Long Beach Memorial Medical center, 2011-2015
Associate faculty for USC, UCI and UCLA
Physicians Wellbeing and Credential Committee member, Los Alamitos Medical Center, 2006-2007
Clinical Coordinator for Shoulder to Shoulder outreach in Santa Ana, Honduras 2002
Coordinator, Doc is In Outreach Program, 2001
Chairperson, Annual Halloween Party for Diabetic Kids, 2001
Co-chairperson, Residency Retreat Planning Committee, 2001
Editor-in-Chief of Medical School Newspaper, 1997-99
President, Family Medicine Interest Group, 1997-98
Chairperson, SOMAA AIDS Awareness Conference, 1998
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Karen Chestnut was born and raised in San Luis Obispo, CA. She is a third generation San Luis Obispo native. She graduated from Cuesta College Registered Nurse Program and worked in the Emergency Departments at Twin Cities, Sierra Vista and French Hospital as an RN. She worked on the side while working in the Emergency Departments at San Luis Ambulance as a Critical Care Transport RN.
Wanting to continue her education, Karen went back to school at Sonoma State University and graduated from the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. For about two years after graduation she worked in Oxnard at St. John's Regional Hospital as a Nurse Practitioner. She was then recruited by the Medical Director of the Emergency Department at French Hospital to help establish an Advanced Practice Provider program at French and Arroyo Grande Hospital. The program has been successful and is currently still in practice at French and Arroyo Grande Hospitals.
Fortunate to live and work in the community that she grew up in, she has cared for many people and families she has known her entire life. The choice to move into Family Practice was easy as this was a way for her to slow down and spend time with her patients.
Karen lives one block from her father. He still lives in the house she grew up in. Her mom lives in San Luis Obispo as well as one of her sons. She has two other children that live on two separate ranches in Creston. Karen has horses, dogs, chickens and one cat. She enjoys everything that has to do with the outdoors.