Meet Our Staff
Physicians | Nurse Practitioners | Management
Physicians
Ricardo Riesco: MD, FAAP, Owner
Dr. Riesco received his medical degree from Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru in 1991. He completed his three-year pediatric residency at SUNY Children’s Medical Center in Brooklyn in 1997. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. He has been in practice in Dalton, Georgia since 1997 and is co-owner of Peds Care, P.C.
Milca Hernandez-Aviles: MD, FAAP, Owner
Dr. Hernandez received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2000. She completed her three-year pediatric residency in the University Pediatric Hospital, Puerto Rico in 2003. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She has been in practice in Dalton, Georgia since 2008 and is co-owner of Peds Care, P.C.
Abeer M. Abdeldayem: MD, FAAP
Dr. Abdeldayem received her medical degree from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt in 1997 and was an anesthesiologist in Egypt. She completed her three-year pediatric residency at Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York in 2012. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She has been in practice in Dalton, Georgia since 2012.
Dr. Cathy Pak: MD, FAAP
Dr. Pak received her medical degree from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California in 1987. She completed her three-year pediatric residency in California in 1990. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. She has been in practice in Dalton, Georgia since 1995.
Nurse Practitioners
Christina Pearson: NP-C
Christina Pearson, Nurse Practitioner, She received her Associate of Science Degree in nursing from Dalton State College in 1985. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in1989. She received her Master of Science Degree in nursing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2000. She is certified as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. She received a Post Masters Certificate as a Nurse Practitioner from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2013. She is certified as a Nurse Practitioner by the AANP.
Shayna McDougle, NP-C
Shayna McDougle, Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her Associate of Science in Nursing from Dalton State College in 2009. She became a Certified Pediatric nurse in 2011 after passing the National Pediatric Certification exam. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Dalton State College in 2015. She graduated with Honors and received her Master of Science in Nursing from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee in 2018. She was certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner’s in Family Nurse Practice in May of 2018.
Tabatha Parrish, NP-C
Tabatha Parrish, Nurse Practitioner received her Associate RN degree from Dalton State College in 2011. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree in 2015. She worked at Hamilton Medical Center for 8 years as an RN with certifications in Med-Surg and Chemotherapy. She received her Master of Science Degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in August of 2019. She is certified as a Nurse Practitioner by the ANCC.
Seth Owen, NP-C
Seth Owen, Family Nurse Practitioner, received his Associates of Science Degree in nursing from Dalton State College in 2015. He later received his Bachelor of Science Degree in nursing from Dalton State College where he graduated with honors in 2016. Seth has experience in a level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where he worked as a Registered Nurse and was part of the neonatal ground transport team for seven years. He received his Master of Science Degree in nursing in 2021, where he graduated with honors from Maryville University of St. Louis with a specialization as a Family Nurse Practitioner. He is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in Family Nurse Practice in 2021.
Management
Jennifer Hosford
Practice Administrator
Joshua M. Coffey
Front Office Manager & Assistant Manager
Front Office Staff
Nursing Staff
Billing Staff
Founding Partner of Peds Care, P.C.
Dr. Martin C. Michaels
Dr. Michaels died in December of 2011, but he left a legacy of caring and service to the many children he treated since he began his practice in 1984. He fought to ensure that children, specifically the underserved, received appropriate care in his community, throughout Georgia, and nationwide. He was a proponent of equal health care and insurance for all of children. An outspoken advocate for Georgia’s Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids programs, he used Health Check exams as the standard for all his patients regardless of their ability to pay.
He felt no child should be turned away from care because their family could not pay. He also saw patients whose families had balances. He established a “Medicine Fund,” and would take money out of his own pocket for treatment, as well as transportation to and from his office, if it meant a child could be treated in the early stages of an illness.
Michaels served as the President of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and served on its Vision of Pediatrics National Task Force. He championed adult literacy. A member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, he served on the vestry, worked to improve adult education and created an annual community jazz service, wherein he could share his passion for music. He was a devoted husband, loving father, and was a loyal friend to many. He nurtured his family by cooking for them.
Many who knew Dr. Michaels, his work, his passion and his dedication are still reeling from his untimely passing at age 55. It is only fitting that he be honored for a lifetime of leadership, service to others and unwavering support for Georgia’s underserved people.
Founding Partner of Peds Care, P.C. – 1989
Peds Care, P.C. Incorporated – 1995
For more information about our practice or pediatric services, call us today at 706.278.6628. Our team is happy to answer all of your questions.