Who is Donna Saatman?

Donna Saatman is a board certified neurosurgeon. She opened Bay Area Neurosurgery in August of 2004 and quickly established herself as the premier neurosurgeon in Eastern Hillsborough County.  Dr. Saatman has earned a reputation as a superior surgeon who truly cares about her patients.

She began her medical career by graduating magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a major in zoology and a minor in psychology in 1992.  The next year Dr. Saatman gained employment as the care taker of a wheelchair bound woman with multiple sclerosis (MS).  She cooked, fed, bathed, provided medications and transported her patient to and from doctor appointments.  It was during this year that Dr. Saatman decided to become a doctor.

Dr. Saatman achieved her medical degree in the United States from the well respected SUNY (State University of New York) education system. Dr. Saatman graduated with alpha omega alpha honors from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 1997.

As chairman of the USF Neurological Surgery Department, Dr. David Cahill picked Dr. Saatman as his first choice to join the USF Neurosurgery residency program in 1997. She completed her 7 year neurosurgery training program at the University of South Florida as chief resident in June of 2004.  During this intense program with 100 hour work weeks, Dr. Saatman completed an elective fellowship program in neurosurgical oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center.  Most neurosurgery residency programs are skewed by the chairman’s subspecialty.  At USF, Dr. Saatman was trained by David Cahill, an internationally renowned neurosurgeon of "alarming intelligence" noted for his teaching and his innovation in spinal instrumentation. Additionally, Dr. Saatman was trained by revered cranial surgeon Dr. Harry van Loveren as well as oncology neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Brem.  This makes Dr. Saatman uniquely qualified to perform a vast array of neurosurgical procedures.

Alyssa Macca
Alyssa@bayareaneurosurgery.com

Alyssa Macca was born and raised locally in the Tampa Bay area. After graduating high school she received a full academic scholarship to the University of Florida in Gainesville. There, she completed her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nursing.  Alyssa continued her education achieving a Master’s degree in Nursing at UF, graduating with honors as a Family Nurse Practitioner.  During her rigorous training, Alyssa worked at the prestigious Shands Hospital in Gainesville caring for medical and surgical patients.

After receiving her Master’s degree she moved to South Tampa and worked in dermatology and plastic surgery for two years before joining Bay Area Neurosurgery in 2006.

Alyssa worked for Dr. Saatman as her first nurse practitioner for 2 years and then decided to expand her experiences at Lakeland Regional Hospital, a level 2 trauma center. There, she assisted three neurosurgeons in the operating room and clinic.  Alyssa appreciated the experience gained at Lakeland, but she missed Dr. Saatman’s extraordinary surgical skills and commitment to superior patient care.   Alyssa is back at Bay Area Neurosurgery assisting Dr. Saatman both in and out of the operating room. She handles all aspects of patient care, from the moment the patients enters the office to the operating table to the post-operative visits. Her energy combined with her positive outlook and neurosurgical knowledge manifest into excellent patient care.

Amy Galley
Amy@bayareaneurosurgery.com

Amy has lived with her husband and 2 children in the Tampa area for 4 years. She was born and raised in Buffalo, New York and graduated with a BSN from D’Youville College in Buffalo. She spent 11 years in the surgical intensive care unit at one of Buffalo’s largest hospital systems and her last 5 years in Buffalo were spent working with the University of Buffalo’s Department of Neurosurgery. In the department of neurosurgery, Amy worked very closely with the neurosurgical attendings, residents, and fellows. She rounded on the hospitalized patients, saw patients in clinic, and triaged patient’s clinical issues. Amy then transferred to Florida where she worked with Dr. Saatman as her clinical nurse for 1 year. She left Bay Area Neurosurgery to work with critically and terminally ill patients at LifePath Hospice. When the opportunity at Bay Area Neurosurgery presented, Amy immediately rejoined the practice. Dr. Saatman is delighted to have Amy back where she belongs. Amy sees new patients in the clinic with Dr. Saatman and attends pre-op and post-op patients. She makes herself available in the office Monday thru Friday to address patients concerns. Amy enjoys visiting her daughter at college, watching her son play hockey, and going to the beach.”

Adriana Arguelles
Adriana@bayareaneurosurgery.com

Adriana joined the Bay Area Neurosurgery team in June of 2008 to run the front office.  Her strong customer service skills come from her easy going personality and six years in the trenches as a customer service representative for Delta Airlines in Tampa.  Adriana’s father served in the US Army and was stationed in Hawaii where Adriana was born.  Several moves later, Adriana landed in Georgia.  Here, her father retired from the military and Adriana began her own journey.  Now, Adriana and her husband are proud parents.  They have a ninth month old son of their own.  Adriana’s friendly personality will be reflected on each and every patient entering our office.  Fluent in Spanish and English, Adriana adds a new dimension to our practice.

Adriana hobbies include making jewelry, watching movies, and spending time with her family members.  These strong family values are reflected in the way our front office operates.

Troy Scholl - IT

Troy created the BAN network and is responsible for security and maintenance of all hardware and software applications. Troy keeps us abreast of current technology that can improve our efficiencies and improve patient care. Currently, Troy is working on major improvements to our Electronic Charting system which will be of great benefit to our patients.