Caregiver Feature 
Chris Barrozo, PA-C, Physician Assistant, Monument Health Orthopedics & Specialty Hospital. A surgical APP, like Chris, often see patients before, during and after surgery. These visits provide the surgeon with additional patient information. This comprehensive care model ensures the patient is treated by a highly trained care team.
My Role
I work with a team of skilled professionals at the Monument Health Orthopedic & Specialty Hospital. We provide a variety of musculoskeletal care for our community. This involves evaluating patients with acute and chronic orthopedic concerns in our clinic, as well as assisting the surgeon in the operating room.
Advanced Practice Provider (APP) refers to physician assistants (PA-C), certified nurse practitioners (CNP) and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA). Because of their advanced training, APPs can do many of the same things a physician does. Patients benefit from having both their physician and their APP working together on their care.
My Goal
My goal, and that of orthopedics, is to help patients improve or restore function so that they can get back to their normal routine. I try to understand patient expectations and use the tools of orthopedic medicine to help meet their needs as a provider. My goal for the next year is to continue to mentor new APPs in orthopedics to become better providers, which ultimately helps deliver high-quality care for our community.
My Passion
I have been involved with health care in a variety of capacities over the last 25 years, and orthopedic care has always given me joy. This is a field of medicine where I get to see patients typically improve the quality of their life. To be able to see a patient come back to the clinic after surgery and show me they can walk better or even lift their arm over their head when they couldn’t before makes me happy. Knowing that, as a physician assistant, I was able to help get the patient to that point of life satisfaction is my passion.