Meet Our Staff
Our friendly and Karing staff is looking forward to meeting your healthcare needs. Take a minute to get to know the people you will see when you visit Karing Hearts Cardiology.
Dr. Jeff 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 Bachelor of Science in
Dr. Erasme Coly
MD
Dr. 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”. He completed his internship
Dr. Kamesh Sivagnanam
(Dr. Siv)
MD
Dr. Siv is originally from Chennai in Southern India. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and his cardiovascular disease fellowship at East Tennessee State University in 2017.
Dr. Nikoloz Koshkelashvili
(Dr. Nik)
MD
Dr. Nik is originally from the Republic of Georgia and earned his medical degree from David Tvildiani Medical University/AIETI Medical School in 2011. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in 2016 and then attended Emory University School of Medicine where he completed his Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship in 2019, his Interventional Cardiology Fellowship in 2020 and a Structural Heart and Valve Disease Fellowship in 2021. He is board certified in general cardiology and interventional cardiology and is licensed in Tennessee. His areas of expertise include
Julie Bentley
FNP-BC
Julie joined Karing Hearts Cardiology in August 2011, a few short months after Dr. Schoondyke opened his private practice. She is a graduate of Milligan College where she received her Bachelor of Science in nursing (2003), magna cum laude. After working as a registered nurse (RN) in the emergency department of Duke University Medical Center, Julie received a
April Reece
FNP-C
April, one of our nurse practitioners, joined Karing Hearts Cardiology in March 2017. April is a native of Elizabethton, Tennessee and continues to reside there. In 2009, she graduated from Milligan College with her Bachelor of Science in nursing. She then worked as a registered nurse (RN) in the emergency room and intensive care unit (ICU) at Johnson City
Whitney Pyles
FNP-BC
Whitney has been with Karing Hearts Cardiology since 2013. After working most of her nursing career in inpatient cardiology and in the cath lab at Johnson City Medical Center, she transitioned to Karing Hearts Cardiology to work in outpatient cardiology. She worked as a registered nurse (RN) fulfilling many roles Karing Hearts Cardiology had to offer, including
Louise Crisp
AGACNP-BC
Louise is originally from Johnson City, Tennessee and joined our team in June of 2021 as one of our nurse practitioners. She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from King College and has over 15 years of experience as a registered nurse. She has worked in two level one trauma centers, a medical intensive care unit and several progressive care units in hospitals
Alexandria Hill
FNP
Alexandria is from Boone, North Carolina and joined our team in August of 2021 as one of our nurse practitioners. She attended East Tennessee State University where she received her Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2013. She then worked as a registered nurse (RN) in the emergency department at Franklin Woods Community Hospital and the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Johnson City Medical Center until receiving her Master of Science in nursing (family nurse practitioner) from East Tennessee State University in 2018. Prior to joining our team, she worked as a family nurse practitioner with occupational medicine, chronic pain management and internal medicine as
