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Indian Health Service The Federal Health Program for American Indians and Alaska Natives

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Our Staff

Mark Horton, OD, MD

Director IHS-JVN Teleophthalmology Program Adjudicator, IHS-JVN National Reading Center
Dr. Mark Horton received a Doctorate of Optometry from the University of Houston in 1973 and MD from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda Maryland in 1982. He completed a residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1986. He was assigned to the Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC) in 1986 and served in several leadership roles including Chief of the Eye and ENT Departments from 1994-2012. Dr. Horton was appointed to develop and direct a national teleophthalmology program for the Indian Health Service in 1999. This program became the IHS/JVN Teleophthalmology Program beginning clinical deployments in 2001, and now with 86 deployments in 24 states. Other telemedicine activities include The American Telemedicine Association (Ocular Telehealth Standards, Ocular SIG), DICOM Workgroup 9 (Ophthalmology), and the Integrating Healthcare Enterprise (Eye Care). Dr. Horton is the author of multiple journal articles and book chapters on ophthalmology and telemedicine. He retired his commission in the USPHS after 27 years of duty in 2000, and continues his federal service as a civilian employee of the Indian Health Service in Phoenix, Arizona.

Randy Saria, MBA

Director of Operations
LCDR Randy Saria is the Director of Operations for the IHS/JVN Teleophthalmology Program based out of the Phoenix Indian Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. The IHS/JVN Program is a national telemedicine program that provides diabetic eye exams to IHS, Tribal and Urban sites with the goal of preventing blindness. LCDR Saria completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California in Riverside, California, in 2000. Upon completion of his degree, he fulfilled a short tour with the Arizona Department of Health Services until obtaining his position with the IHS/JVN Program as lead imager and imager trainer in 2001. In 2006, he completed his MBA degree through the University of Phoenix, became Director of Operations for the program and began his career as a commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service. As Operations Director, he is accountable for over 80 sites, trained over 300 image technicians and assisted in developing a structured reimbursement platform for facilities nationwide. LCDR Saria is only the second member in his native family to complete college and the first to obtain a graduate degree. He takes pride in his Native American background, being one-half Hopi Indian, and makes every effort in improving the well-being of American Indians and Alaska Natives everywhere.

Rachelle Hovel, MSW

Program Assistant - QA
Rachelle Hovel is a program assistant and quality assurance officer for the IHS-JVN Teleophthalmology Program. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Business Administration with the emphasis in Management from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas in 2007. She also attended graduate school at Arizona State University, receiving a Master's of Social Work degree with an emphasis in Planning, Administration, and Community Practice in 2009. Ms Hovel's duties emphasize resource utilization, quality assurance, and performance improvement of the IHS-JVN program.

Dawn Clary, OD

Chief, IHS-JVN National Reading Center, IHS-JVN Reader-Phoenix
Dr. Clary received her Doctorate of Optometry from Pacific University College of Optometry in 1994. She started her career with the Indian Health Service, in her hometown of Gallup, NM, at the Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC) in July of 1994 and served as staff optometrist until her transfer to PIMC in 1997. At the Phoenix Indian Medical Center, Dr. Clary has served as a staff optometrist, Acting Chief of Optometry, Area Chief of Optometry and Director of the IHS/JVN Teleophthalmology National Reading Center. Dr. Clary has continually stayed at the front of diabetic retinopathy diagnosis research. She has presented multiple lectures and posters and has been invited to be on panels concerning Diabetic Retinopathy. Dr. Dawn Clary is currently a Captain in the United States Public Health Service stationed at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC).

Erin Giles, OD, FAAO

IHS-JVN Reader-Phoenix
Dr. Erin Giles received a Doctorate of Optometry from the Southern College of Optometry in 2006. She is a member of the Cherokee Tribe and was a recipient of an Indian Health Professions Scholarship. Following optometry school she was assigned to Phoenix Indian Medical Center (PIMC) in 2006 where she currently practices as a career office in the US Public Health Service. Dr. Giles divides her time between clinical activity in the PIMC eye clinic, managing the department's optometry externship program, and providing telemedicine reading services at the IHS-JVN National Reading Center. Dr. Giles is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and was the 2012 recipient of the Annie Dodge Wauneka Award for healthcare excellence.

Ruby Lew, OD

IHS-JVN Reader-Phoenix
Dr. Lew received her Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2002. She trained at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and was certified as a Joslin Vision Network reader in 2003. Dr. Lew joined the IHS-JVN Teleophthalmology Program since 2003 where she continues to serve in the IHS-JVN National Reading Center. Dr. Lew also serves as a staff optometrist in the eye clinic of the Phoenix Indian Medical Center.

Gay Nord, OD

IHS-JVN Reader-Flagstaff
Dr Gay Nord received a Doctor of Optometry degree from in the Indiana University School of Optometry in 1990 and completed a residency in Hospital Based Optometry at the Huntington VA Medical Center. She joined the Indian Health Service in 1991 and was commissioned in the United States Public Health Service, currently holding the rank of Captain. Dr. Nord completed her JVN certification at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and joined the IHS-JVN team in 2007 as a reader in the IHS-JVN National Reading Center. In addition to her duties as a JVN reader, Dr. Nord staffs the eye clinic at Sacred Peaks Health Center in Flagstaff, AZ.