Services

Digestive Healthcare Associates, LLC provides the following services to its patients. Click on each one to learn the definition, preparation, expectations and results of each.

Staff

Elizabeth Cruz, M.D.

Dr. Cruz graduated from college in 1988 with a B.S. in Medical Technology. Prior to Medical School, she taught English for one year in Bangkok Thailand. In 1989, Dr. Cruz began her formal career in medicine by attending Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California. During medical school, Dr. Cruz was part of a student / staff physician team, which provided relief work to the natives along the Amazon River. She graduated from medical school in 1993 and then went on to do her Internal Medicine Internship under the auspices of the U.S. Navy at the Naval Hospital, Oakland, California.

Upon the closure of the Naval Hospital in Oakland, Dr. Cruz transferred and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1996, she was deployed to Guam to fulfill her commitment to the U.S. Navy. While in Guam, she served as a Staff Internist at the U.S. Naval Hospital. During her active duty years in the Navy, she received the Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal as well as the Humanitarian Service Medal and the National Defense Medal for service during Operation Desert Storm. During her last two years in Guam, she was the Head of the Internal Medicine Division at the U.S. Naval Hospital.

In 2000, she went back to the University of California, San Francisco where she completed her training in Gastroenterology (GI). In 2004, Dr. Cruz moved to Arizona to join the Arizona Medical Clinic in Peoria. For two and a half years she served as a full-time gastroenterologist in both the outpatient and inpatient settings doing the full range of general gastroenterology including endoscopic procedures as well as hepatology. In January 2007, Dr. Cruz joined Estrella Gastroenterology in Goodyear, Arizona. In January 2008, she opened the doors to her own practice, Digestive Healthcare Associates, LLC.

Dr. Cruz was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Orlando, Florida. She speaks fluent Spanish and enjoys her family, traveling, jazz music, and photography.

Dr. Cruz is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Gastroenterology. She is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.


Amy Soloman, D.O.

Dr. Amy Soloman was born and raised in Staten Island, New York. In 2000, she graduated suma cum laude with a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John’s University. She then went on to obtain her Doctor of Osteopathy with honors from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2004. Upon completing her internal medicine training at Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, she pursued an additional year with the distinguished honor of Chief Resident / Clinical Instructor for the department of internal medicine. During this time she was recognized with an award for excellence in teaching. In 2011, Dr. Soloman completed her Gastroenterology / Hepatology fellowship training at Case Western Reserve / MetroHealth, and was distinguished as “Fellow of the Year” upon graduation. During her fellowship training she was actively involved in research, clinical trials, and was published in distinguished gastroenterology journals.

Dr. Soloman is board certified in Internal Medicine, and is completing her certification in Gastroenterology. She is a member of the AOA, AGA, ASGE, and ACG. She enjoys biking, theater, orchestra, and vacationing with her husband and two girls. With a great enthusiasm for community service, Dr. Soloman spends time serving the youth at St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church, volunteering at Joy Christian School, speaking to communities raising awareness for colorectal cancer screening and supporting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Dr. Soloman also prides herself in her fluency in the Arabic language, her enthusiasm to teach, and her great compassion for patient care.

With a vast knowledge in the general principles of gastroenterology / hepatology, she expresses a special interest in inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, capsule endoscopy, and GERD.

Dr. Soloman has recently moved to the Phoenix area and has joined Dr. Cruz as her partner at Digestive Healthcare Associates, LLC. She is looking forward to further cultivating her career and establishing herself as one of the best female gastroenterologists in the area.


Nikki Knust - RN, MSN, FNP-BC

Nikki Knust is a native to Arizona. Nikki grew up in the Northwest Valley and attended Greenway High School. Nikki attended University of Arizona for three years and then finished her Bachelors of Science in Nursing at Arizona State University in 1997.

Since becoming a nurse Nikki has worked in Labor and Delivery, Gynecology, and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Finding a love for patient care and a desire to further her education Nikki went back to school and completed her Master’s of Science in Nursing with a Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate in 2009 at University of Phoenix. Since then she has been working in Gynecology as well as being the administrator/Nursing Director for an ambulatory surgery center. Nikki also has a love for education and serves as the Area Chair for the LPN to BSN program as well as faculty at University of Phoenix.

Nikki is married and the mom to three boys, two dogs, a gecko and a fish. Nikki stays very busy with her family and her boy’s activities. In her spare time Nikki likes photography, beading, shopping and reading.

Nikki is board certified by the ANCC as a Family Nurse Practitioner as well as a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).


Yessenia Helms – Medical Assistant for Dr. Cruz

Yessenia Helms grew up in Moses Lake, Washington and moved to Arizona when she was 15. She finished Medical Assistant school when she was 18 and has been a Medical Assistant ever since. Her previous job was with Total Medical Care, a family practice and urgent care facility in Phoenix. Yessenia has 2 boys that she loves to spend time with and enjoys watching them play sports as they are very active. She is very family oriented, loves to scrap book and loves to watch movies.


Kari Meadows - Medical Assistant for Dr. Soloman

Kari Meadows was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She has been in the healthcare field since High School and has been a Medical Assistant for the last 10 years. Kari's passion is patient care and coordinating in office procedures. She comes to Digestive Healthcare Associates from a cardiology group where she worked with multiple doctors and before that an internal medicine practice where she worked for 8 years. Kari is married, has three children and one beautiful granddaughter. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing BINGO and participating in church activities.


Yolanda Santos (Yolie) - Medical Assistant for NP, Nikki Knust

Yolanda (Yolie) Santos was born in Torrance, California but moved to Arizona when she was 4 years old. Even though she was primarily raised in Arizona, she considers California her home. Before joining Digestive Healthcare Associates as one of our Receptionists, Yoli worked in a Plastic Surgeon's office and at Chevy's Restaurant. Even though Chevy's is not medical related, Yolie continues to point out that they are famous for their chips and salsa which she brings into our office quite regularly. Yolie has a passion for helping others and a family history of those in the medical field. She graduated from Arizona College of Allied Health as a Medical Assistant and will be transitioning to one of our Medical Assistants in the fall. She loves to shop, sing, dance and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.


Natalie Garcia - Scheduler / Referral Coordinator

Natalie Garcia was born in Inglewood, California. She moved to Sacramento, California in 2001 and then to Phoenix, Arizona in 2006. She earned her EMT diploma in 2009. Prior to joining Digestive Healthcare Associates as our Scheduler / Referral Coordinator, Natalie spent 4 1/2 years working for The People of Color Network, where she worked with patients that have behavioral health problems. Natalie loves to travel and spend time with her two nephews and niece.


Veronica Pinedo - Reception

Veronica Pinedo was born in Calexico, California. She grew up in Mexico and moved to Arizona at the age of 14. Veronica has over six years of customer service / reception experience, most recently working at Sunrise OB/GYN before joining us here at Digestive Healthcare Associates. She is happily married to a Navy sailor and is a Mother of two beautiful little boys.


Elizabeth Cruz Sr. – Back Office Support

Elizabeth Cruz was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, but was raised in Southern California and has recently moved to Arizona from Orlando, Florida where she has lived since 1978. She has held many positions in her career; including 33 years with the Southern California Conference and the Florida Conference of Seventh Day Adventist. Her strong administrative, accounting, translation and customer service skills will be put to good use as back-office manager. In her spare time, Elizabeth is very involved with her family, church and community service projects. She loves spending time with her mother, her three daughters and many grandchildren.


Linda Waterson – Registered Nurse

Linda Waterson was born in Wabash, Indiana and has lived in the Phoenix area since 1964. Linda has been a Registered Nurse for 31 years with 26 years in gastroenterology. She worked in a local hospital for 21 years in the Endoscopy department, and after having her daughter; Linda decided to move her scope of expertise to the GI office. Linda is on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Society of Gastrointestinal Nurses and Associates. Through this professional organization she has become a CGRN (Certified Gastrointestinal Registered Nurse). Linda is married and has one daughter and two dogs. When not working, Linda’s days are spent going to the gym and hanging out with her family.


Karen Card-Reeves - Billing

Karen Card-Reeves was born in Michigan and moved to Arizona in 1980. Karen has worked for physicians since 1983 and has over 25 years of Medical Billing experience. She has extensive knowledge of the entire billing process. She is happily married to Richard & has two wonderful daughters Brooke and Rylie. Her son-in-law Justin, is proudly serving our country in Iraq. Karen enjoys spending time in Mexico and being with family and friends!


Sherry Wilson - Billing

Sherry Wilson was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She has 20 years of experience in the healthcare field. She has extensive knowledge of the entire billing process and continues to pursue seminars to keep educated. In 2005, she was awarded the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) after successfully passing the national certification examination. She is also a member of the Arizona Medical Group Management Association. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Preferred Hospitals

The following is a list of hospitals where Dr. Cruz has privileges:

Insurance Plans

As of July 1, 2009, Digestive Healthcare Associates, LLC transitioned to a new billing system. Below is a list of insurances accepted as of this date in addition to insurances pending and discontinued. We are working as quickly as possible to make this transition; we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this process. The following is a list of insurances we are currently accepting:

The following is a list of insurances that we unfortunately will no longer be able to accept:

Disclaimer – The information on this website as well as its associated links are designed to be purely informative. The information is not meant to aid in self diagnosis and treatment. Digestive Healthcare Associates, LLC assumes no liability for the use of this information.