HOURS OF OPERATION

Tim Dare has been stating “your family is our family” to his patients for over 20 years as a practicing Physician Assistant in the Savannah area. Tim believes that providing a reassuring statement to your patients followed by a confidently explained plan of action - will bring everyone to feel like family. 

His adventure begins when he was born on February 28, 1975, in Vero Beach, Florida. There he was an avid athlete throughout high school and spent most of his time surfing the Florida coastline.  

He attended Mars Hill University in North Carolina where he graduated Cum Laude in the Major of Biology (Pre-Med) in 1997. He then enrolled in South University’s inaugural Physician Assistant Class and graduated Cum Laude in 2000. 

After completing his degree in Physician Assistance, he spent four years working in Internal Medicine and 17 years in Allergy and Immunology with Coastal Allergy and Asthma. He transitioned to Urgent Care Berwick /Sandfly two years ago and has enjoyed the new challenges in medicine and business management. In all areas of medicine that Tim has had the opportunity to practice, he believes that developing a relationship with his patients is a passion that leads to a healthy family environment and satisfied patients. 

Tim’s commitment to developing relationships with his patients and their families has also led him to work directly with the Georgia Association of Physician Assistants as a regional contact liaison for all Physician Assistants, connecting Physician Assistants throughout Georgia. He has held the role of GAPA President for two terms and looks forward to continuing his support for all Physician Assistants in Georgia.

Tim currently lives on Skidaway Island with his wife Joan and their daughter Grace. He spends most of his time with his family swimming, mountain biking, and running. He has been competing in triathlons, mountain bike races, and other endurance races for the past 15 years and recently had the opportunity to complete 2 IronMan Triathlons and the Leadville 100. He is still in search of the perfect wave! 

Dr. Joseph Roarty is originally from Bayonne, New Jersey.  He graduated from St. Peter’s College, Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biochemistry in 1996.  He received his Medical Degree from New York Medical College in 2005.  He then spent three years in San Antonio, Texas completing his residency training in Emergency Medicine at Wilford Hall and Brooke Army Medical Centers.  He is Board Certified through the American Board of Emergency Medicine.

After completing his residency he was stationed at Ft. Stewart, GA fulfilling his active duty service obligation.  He served as a Brigade Surgeon for the 4th Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division.  He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn from 2010-2011 earning a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service during his deployment.  After his deployment, he was appointed in the department of emergency medicine at Winn Army Community Hospital.  He served as chief of the department of emergency medicine at Winn Army before finishing his Army career in 2012.

Dr. Roarty has practiced Emergency Medicine in the Savannah area since 2009.  He has held staff appointments in the departments of Emergency Medicine at St. Joseph’s Candler healthcare system; Southeast Georgia healthcare system-Brunswick, GA; East Georgia Regional medical center-Statesboro, GA; and Winn Army Community Hospital-Fort Stewart, GA. 

Dr. Roarty cherishes the value of family, spending his free time with his wife Mandy and four boys.  As the medical director of Urgent Care of Berwick, his goals are to provide the highest quality of care and service to the people of Savannah. He values patient feedback and is dedicated to providing the highest quality of affordable care to the community.

Practicing as a Physician Assistant and specializing in Orthopaedic sports medicine for 36 years, Mary Vacala has extensive experience working with patients and athletes of all ages and professions. Mary started her sports medicine career in college, where she was both a scholarship athlete and an athletic trainer. Mary’s philosophy is to live your life with purpose and have fun doing it. Mary's college Field Hockey team was recently inducted into the Western Illinois University Athletics, Hall of Fame class of 2024.

Mary holds 2 Bachelor’s of Science degrees and 2 master’s degrees in Medical Science and Physician Assistant Studies.

Mary has been certified as an athletic trainer for 45 years and a Physician Assistant for 36 years. Mary has coordinated several athletic training, sports medicine, and PA programs and served as department chair/program director of a Physician assistant program. She continues to mentor student interns in PA studies, ATC, and Family Medicine. Mary has been presenting guest lectures throughout the country and internationally for over 28 years.

Mary was one of 3 medical coordinators and a Chief athletic trainer in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games. She has worked with the USA Olympic Committee since 1993. She was selected to the USA medical Team in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2020/2021, where she covered the Paralympic games in Sydney, Australia, Athens, Greece, Rio, Brazil, and Tokyo, Japan. She has been a member of 3 Gold medal Americas cup teams, 2 Silver medal World Championship teams, 3 Gold medal Parapan teams, and 3 Gold Medal Paralympic Teams.

Mary has served as a secretary and a two-term president of the Georgia Association of Physician Assistants. Mary has served as a delegate for the AAPA House of Delegates for eleven terms. She was elected by her peers as the GAPA Physician Assistant of the Year in 2015.

Mary has co-authored a Chapter on the Care of the Physically Challenged Patient in the book Physician Assistant: A Guide to Clinical Practice. She has numerous honors, the most recent of which include the GAPA Physician Assistant of the Year, the Hu. C Myers Award, the distinguished alumni PA award at Alderson Broaddus University, the 2017 Distinguished Alumni award from Western Illinois University, and the AAPA as an AAPA Distinguished Fellow.

Dr. James Portzer is originally from New York. He graduated from Villanova University in 1988 with a BS in  Biology and went on to medical school at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Portzer then completed an Internship in Binghamton, NY, followed by his Emergency Medicine Residency at York Memorial Hospital in PA. Dr. Portzer was Chief Resident of his EM program and is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine. He took his first Attending job in Buffalo, NY in 1997 and enjoyed the teaching aspect of the job as an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Buffalo EM Residency. He became the EM Director of the Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo.

In 2002, Dr. Portzer made the move to the sunny South and has been practicing Emergency Medicine in Savannah with Georgia Emergency Associates. He continues to practice full time Emergency Medicine locally at Candler and St. Joseph ER's. The Savannah area has continued to provide teaching opportunities locally as a preceptor and Associate Professor of The Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Portzer's other passions include physical fitness and Preventative and Sports Medicine. He loves to play and coach baseball. He treasures the many friendships he has made playing and coaching baseball locally. 

His Life Motto is "Live life and play hard." If not working you can find him outdoors  fly fishing , mountain biking, whitewater kayaking , playing volleyball or just listening to some good country music.

Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Tatyana Ioffe has lived in Savannah most of her life. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Armstrong Atlantic University and worked in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph's/Candler for seven years. Tatyana went on to graduate with a Masters of Science in Nursing from South University and is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. 

In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors, cooking, and traveling. Tatyana believes her experience in nursing and emergency medicine has given her the dedication to provide compassionate quality care and preventative care advocacy.

A native of Savannah, Meagan Ruehling is a graduate of St. Vincent’s Academy. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Armstrong Atlantic State University, she worked in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s/Candler. She went on to earn her Masters of Science in Nursing from South University and is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner. 

In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time on the water with her husband and two dogs. Born and raised in Savannah, Meagan has a personal investment in the health and wellbeing of her community and is dedicated to bettering the lives of her patients. With a background in nursing and emergency medicine, she believes a little extra time spent on listening and advocating for patients in times of need is the best way to achieve this goal.

Brittany Wilson is a native of South Georgia.  She graduated from Brantley County High School before moving to Savannah where she graduated from Armstrong with a Bachelors in Economics.

Brittany initially came on staff at the Urgent care of Berwick in 2017 as a receptionist before quickly transitioning into the role of supervisor for the front desk staff. 

She is our credentialing coordinator for the providers while also managing insurance contracts for Your Family Medical Group's three facilities. Brittany assisted in the start-up of Urgent Care of Sandfly and Primary Care Savannah. While traveling to each location throughout the week, she enjoys patient interaction and leading by example for her staff in providing excellent patient care.

In her free time, Brittany loves to cook, try new recipes, and spoil her children. Together they enjoy relaxing and spending time with family and friends.

Taylor Barger, originally from Miami, FL, moved to Savannah, GA, with her family a little over two years ago. She graduated from Florida International University in Miami with a Bachelors in Science and went on to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant. She attended Shenandoah University in Northern Virginia and graduated in 2018 with a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies. Taylor has experience in Emergency Medicine, Pain Management, and Urgent Care.

When she is not working, Taylor spends time with her family. She has two young children and enjoys being outside with them, particularly family beach days.

Taylor has found her passion in acute care medicine. She loves the opportunity to tend to a patient’s needs promptly and provide patient education so the patient has a full understanding of their visit.

Sarah Bock is a recent graduate, having completed her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies from South University in March 2024. During her academic career, she was honored with the Robert DiBenedetto Student Achievement Award and selected to be a Pi Alpha National Honor Society member. Before beginning her career at Urgent Care, Sarah worked in plastic and reconstructive surgery and dermatology. 

Outside of her professional and academic pursuits, Sarah enjoys spending time with her husband and their three dogs and traveling to try new foods, but she is happiest with a book in her hand.  She looks forward to caring for the coastal community and building lasting relationships with her patients. 

Originally from Chicago, IL, Tyler moved to Savannah in 2017 after graduating from Western Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training. While in Savannah, Tyler worked as an Athletic Trainer for Chatham Orthopedics and SCAD. Tyler also covered multiple sporting events as the head Athletic Trainer and helped develop an ACL prevention program for athletes in the Savannah area. 

Tyler went on to graduate with his master’s in physician assistant studies from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2022. He began his career as a PA-C working at Optim Orthopedics, specializing in foot & ankle surgery and orthopedic trauma surgery. 

Outside of work, he has a baby boy(with hopefully more kids on the way soon!) and a wife he loves spending time with. He also enjoys exercising, being outdoors, traveling, and cooking.

Tyler looks forward to continuing to serve the Coastal community in the coming years.