Meet Our Staff
Our friendly and Karing staff is looking forward to meeting your health care needs. Take a minute to get to know the people you’ll see when you visit Karing Hearts Cardiology.
Dr. Schoondyke
MD, MPH, FACC, CCDS
Dr. Schoondyke is originally from Northern Illinois and moved here to complete his residency in internal Medicine in 2002 and his cardiology fellowship in 2005. Prior to this, he earned his Bachelors degree from Northern Arizona University in 1992, a Master’s degree from University of Oklahoma in 1995, and finally his medical degree at St. George’s University in 1999. He is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and is recognized by the Heart Rhythm Society of America as a Certified Cardiac Device Specialist (CCDS). He currently performs a number of both office and hospital based procedures that include right and left heart catheterization, pacemaker and defibrillator implantation, trans-thoracic and trans-esophageal echocardiography, carotid ultrasound, coronary CTA interpretation, nuclear stress test interpretation, pacemaker and defibrillator rhythm management, venous ablation, and consultative services in both the hospital and his office. He is currently on an active medical staff at the Johnson City Medical Center, Franklin Woods Community Hospital, and Sycamore Shoals Community Hospital.
Erasme Coly
MD
Dr. Erasme Coly, originally from Senegal in West Africa, earned his medical degree from the “Faculte Mixte de Medecine, Pharmacie et Chirurgie Dentaire/Universite Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar”, his internship and residency were at the State University of New York, Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and he completed his fellowship in Cardiology at the University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Coly also trained in Interventional Cardiology and Peripheral Interventions at the Cardiovascular Institute of the South in Houma/Lafayette, Louisiana. Dr. Coly is board certified in Cardiology, Licensed in TN, SC, GA, and NC, and is affiliated with several hospitals including St. Joseph Hospital in Savannah, GA, Beaufort Memorial Hospital in Beaufort, SC, and Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville, GA. Dr. Coly’s area of expertise include Clinical Cardiology, ECG, Holter Monitoring, Stress Testing, Echocardiography (transthoracic and transesophageal), Heart catheterization, Peripheral angiography, Pace maker implantation, ICD implantation, and Nuclear Cardiology.
Kamesh Sivagnanam
MD
Dr. Kamesh is originally from India and completed his internal medicine residency and his cardiovascular disease fellowship at East Tennessee State University. He was both chief resident and chief fellow during his training. He is board certified in echocardiography, nuclear imaging, coronary CTA and vascular imaging. He performs and interprets multiple procedures including cardiac catheterization, trans thoracic and esophageal echocardiography, ECG, Holter Monitoring, Stress Testing, coronary CTA, vascular imaging and pacemaker implantation.
Julie Bentley
FNP-BC
Julie, our Nurse Practitioner, joined Karing Hearts Cardiology in August 2011. Julie is a graduate of Milligan College where she received her Bachelor of Science in a Nursing degree. After working for five years as an RN in the Duke University Medical Center emergency department, Julie then received a Masters of Science in a Nursing degree from the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill in 2008. After completing her education, Julie and her husband Andrew returned to their hometown in the mountains of East Tennessee. They are the loving parents of a beautiful little girl, Caroline.
April Reece
FNP-C
April, one of our nurse practitioners joined Karing Hearts Cardiology in March 2017. April is a graduate of Milligan College where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2009. She worked as an RN in the ER and ICU at Johnson City Medical Center and Sycamore Shoals Hospital. In 2015, April received her Masters of Science in Nursing degree (family nurse practitioner) from East Tennessee State University. She then worked for Inpatient Consultants of Tennessee in internal medicine as a hospitalist until joining the Karing Hearts family. April resides in her hometown of Elizabethton with her dog Zoe. She is recently engaged to her fiancé Aaron, and they are planning a wedding for this October.
Veronica Bosworth
NP
After being raised in east Texas on a small farm, I joined the Navy after college. Six years later, I became an RN and worked in trauma, flight, and ER nursing. For over 18 years I have worked as a nurse practitioner specializing in internal medicine and cardiology. My focus is on individualized patient care. I enjoy treating my patients like family.
Whitney Pyles
FNP-BC
Whitey is one of our newest nurse practitioners, however not new to cardiology or Karing Hearts. Whitney is a native of Asheville, North Carolina. After graduating from Milligan with her Bachelors Science in Nursing, she worked as a cardiac nurse in the ICU step-down at Johnson City Medical Center and the Cardiac Cath Lab for 5 years before coming to Karing Hearts Cardiology and working as an RN for the last 4 years. Whitney went back to school recently and completed her Masters Science in Nursing from King University in 2017. She and her husband Seth enjoy residing in beautiful East Tennessee and are expecting their first child in September.
Dee Perry
FNP-C
I was born in Pikeville, Tennessee, but my family moved to Bluff City when I was three. However, I have lived in Johnson City for 20 years. I wanted to return to school for my MSN for many years, but I waited until my youngest child graduated from high school. Many of my friends in college were in nursing or medical school, and they influenced my initial interest in medicine.
I enjoy meeting patients and learning something new every day. My personal philosophy is to listen, be honest and respectful, and treat every individual like family. I have been married to my husband, Wes, for over 20 years, and between us we have four children. We are members of First Christian Church here in Johnson City. Away from work, I enjoy running and riding my bike on the Tweetsie Trail. I am learning to use a new embroidery/sewing machine. I love watching HGTV and Game of Thrones!
