Dr. Albert Tano with his daughter, Dr. Sara Tano
By Vanessa Orr
When neonatologist Albert Tano, M.D., launched KIDZ Medical Services with co-owner Jorge E. Perez, M.D., in 1988, he had no idea how large the South Florida physician-owned healthcare network would grow—or that it would become a family affair.
Now a pediatric multispecialty practice employing nearly 200 physicians, approximately 70 allied health professionals, and dozens of team members, Dr. Tano is proud of the group’s evolution. And now his daughter, Sara Tano, M.D., a pediatric emergency medicine physician, is part of its legacy.
“Growing up in our household, medicine was always part of our day-to-day conversations,” she said. “I saw how exciting this career was, so I started taking pre-med classes and it took off from there. It was always a dream of mine to work for the group.”
The elder Dr. Tano laughed as he spoke about his medically inclined family, which also includes Dr. Tano’s wife, Debbie, a nurse. “Three out of our four children are doctors, and one is applying now, so hopefully we’ll be four for four.”
A History of Caring
KIDZ Medical Services—which provides specialized neonatal, pediatric, and obstetrical healthcare throughout South Florida—was born when Dr. Tano and Dr. Perez were working at South Miami Hospital. The hospital did not have a neonatal unit at the time, so the two started developing one. “Before you know it, we had a 62-bed, Level 3 NICU. Shortly after we started, we became the first group of physicians to do in-house 24-hour care,” Dr. Tano said.
In addition to neonatology, the group now covers all pediatric subspecialties, including cardiology, neurology, nephrology, genetics, infectious diseases, hematology/oncology, and pulmonology. KIDZ also runs neonatal ICUs in 16 hospitals, as well as pediatric ICUS and pediatric emergency rooms.
According to Dr. Tano, the practice has continued to grow organically in response to community needs, and this led to academic affiliations with Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine at NSU Florida, and others. The organization also maintains a longstanding relationship with several allied health professional universities and has established nurse practitioner training programs at South Miami Hospital and St. Mary’s.
A Progressive Approach
To meet its goal of providing cost-efficient, high-quality care for women, infants, and children, KIDZ takes a progressive and innovative approach. Dr. Tano explained that they eventually became program builders, both by nature and by enthusiasm. “Wherever we find voids in care and service, we work to meet the need,” he said. “We very much enjoy building programs and improving the quality of care alongside our hospital partners.”
Dr. Tano also notes that because medicine is ever-changing, what they did 30 years ago is nearly obsolete today. “When we first started, there were no neonatal nurse practitioners, so we established a training program at South Miami Hospital and now it’s a standard practice.”
KIDZ was also the first group in South Florida to introduce physician assistants into the NICU setting, but Dr. Tano credits part of KIDZ’ success to its less than a one percent physician turnover rate. “Our ‘secret sauce’ is that we’re such a collaborative group,” he explained. “To have that many physicians working together for more than 35 years with very little turnover allows us to not revisit old practices—we’re always moving forward.”
This progressive and collaborative approach is what attracted Dr. Sara Tano to join the practice, despite having options to practice medicine elsewhere. “I really enjoy the environment at KIDZ, as well as the fast-paced life of the ER,” she said. “I treat both general and higher-acuity pediatric patients of all ages, and so every day is different and exciting.”
She also enjoys running into her father on the hospital campus. “He’ll always be my dad first, but I consider myself fortunate to be able to call him a colleague as well. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from him as a physician and as a person.”
As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, Dr. Albert Tano believes KIDZ Medical Services will continue to grow with it. “We’ll continue pushing the envelope to ensure our community gets the great care it deserves.”
