Milton M. Hinkle – Vice President, Operations – West
Mr. Hinkle manages Vantage's west coast operations as well as development efforts. Prior to Vantage, he founded Specialty Medical (now Vantage Oncology Support Services) in 1999, following a career in hospital administration, most recently at Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank where he was an Associate Administrator and Director of Oncology and Cardiac Services. Mr. Hinkle has an MA in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a BS in Health Sciences from Atlantic College.
Richard Daversa – Vice President, Operations – East
Mr. Daversa manages Vantage's east coast operations as well as development efforts. Prior to Vantage, he was the former Senior Vice President, Operations for Bentley Health Care, a privately held company specializing in the development and operation of outpatient centers for the management of catastrophic diseases (Cancer and HIV/AIDS). Previous to Bentley Health Care he was Vice President at Salick Health Care where he was responsible for the operations of the South Florida Comprehensive Cancer Centers for over ten years. Before joining Salick Health Care Mr. Daversa was employed with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center supporting various administrative capacities spanning over a fourteen year period. Mr. Daversa has a Master's degree in Health Care Administration from Long Island University as well as a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Ed Mercado – Vice President, Corporate Development
Mr. Mercado is formerly managing partner with Pinellas Radiation Oncology Associates in Clearwater, Florida, and Vice-Chair for Administration and Finance for the Department of Radiation Oncology for Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He was previously President and Chairperson of the Society for Radiation Oncology Administrators (SROA). He currently serves in the Advisory Council of SROA and is the SROA liaison to the Practice Management and Managed Care subcommittees of the Health Policy and Economic Committee (HPEC) of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and is a former liaison to the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Associated Sciences Consortium. Ed has an MBA from Florida Southern College and is a Certified Medical Practice Executive through the American College of Medical Practice Executives.
Eric Erickson – Director, Information Technology
Mr. Erickson has fifteen years of experience managing IT departments at companies such as Kodak and BenefitMall, a start-up which required him as the technical lead to employ a comprehensive approach to creating the architecture of the IT system as well as testing and approving platforms and software. He has utilized his technical leadership in the architecture and implementation of Vantage’s IT system, including the integration of the twenty centers Vantage currently operates as well as evaluating each new center that is acquired. He possesses MCSE and Cisco CNNA certifications. Mr. Erickson served as an officer in the United States Army for twelve years where he was an honor graduate at commissioning and served in the Special Forces
Dan Ayer – Regional Director, Inland Empire, California
Mr. Ayer has been a registered radiation therapist for 16 years. He was the Chief Therapist/Site Manager for Valley Regional Oncology Center in the Temecula Valley for 9 years prior to its acquisition by Vantage Oncology in 2003. He now manages the operations of Vantage Radiation Therapy Centers in the Inland Empire and Imperial Valley. He holds a BA in Radiation Therapy from California State University, Long Beach.
Gilbert Baerga – Regional Director Operations
Gilbert Baerga graduated from Hunter College with a BA in Education and an MS in Healthcare Administration from The New School University in New York City. He has over 34 years of experience in health care management. He started his career at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center where he spent sixteen years. Prior to joining Vantage Oncology he worked for Salick Healthcare in South Florida as well as the American Cancer Society and most Recently with Hospital Corporation of America where he held the position of Oncology Network Director and ECO. While in South Florida he was appointed by the Office of the Mayor for Miami-Dade county to service on the “Mayor’s Healthcare Access Task Force” to develop a plan for improving the existing healthcare delivery system and resources for residents. He has also been involved as a volunteer with various non-profit organization dedicated to improving the education, prevention and treatment of cancer.
Julia Georgesen – Regional Director, Midwest
Julia Georgesen graduated from the University of Evansville with a BA and an MA in Nursing with a focus on Administration and Adult Health. She has spent the last 25 years working in various capacities in the field of oncology. Prior to joining Vantage Oncology, she served as Patient/Family Service Coordinator for the first local hospice, was the Nurse Coordinator for the Pain Management Program and Interim Quality Assurance Director for the Tri-State Regional Rehabilitation Hospital prior to joining Therapy Associates as the Coordinator of Pain and Rehabilitation Services. Since 1995 she has served as Director of Clinical Oncology for Therapy Associates. At Therapy she developed, implemented, coordinated and supervised all aspects of the delivery of clinical services in a multidisciplinary free-standing cancer center with regional satellites.
