About Us

Dr. Eric Mallico is our medical director and board-certified general surgeon. In addition to our practice, he also sees patients at Albemarle Surgical Associates. He completed his undergraduate studies at Clemson University and medical school at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Farmington, CT. Dr. Mallico served as Chief General Surgery Resident at Carolinas Medical Center before moving to Stanly County in 2008. He is currently Chief of Surgery at Stanly Regional Medical Center.

Patti Shoe, nurse practitioner, provides patients with pre-operative medical evaluations as well as post-op exams. She is the program manager for Stanly Surgical Weight Loss Center and is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. She earned her master’s degree in nursing administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and family nurse practitioner certification from the University of South Carolina. Patti is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Donna Cole, Patient Access Coordinator, SRMC. She provides pre-registration information for bariatric surgery and upfront collection procedures. She has 20 years experience with insurance and billing for medical practices. She holds a BS in Business Administration from Wingate College.

Scott Brone, serves as the Director of Rehabilitation Services and Sports Medicine for Stanly Regional Medical Center and assists our patients with exercise plans before and after surgery. He earned undergraduate degrees in both physical education and physical therapy from New York colleges and universities and has practiced in California, New York, Florida and North Carolina for the past 19 years.

Christy Cunha, Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, obtained her family nurse practitioner degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her psychology/mental health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. In addition to seeing bariatric patients on Wednesdays, she also has a private practice, New Directions Psychiatric Services, in Albemarle.

Jennifer Williams, registered dietitian, holds a master’s degree in human nutrition from Winthrop University and has been a registered dietitian since 2007. In addition to working with patients at Stanly Surgical Weight Loss Center, she also serves as part of the Disease Management/Health Promotion team at Stanly Regional, where she teaches Healthy Directions, a diabetes prevention and weight management program. Jennifer loves spending time with her boxer puppy and watching college basketball, especially the Duke Blue Devils.

Ashlee Valenti, Medical Assistant, assists patients in both the offices of Stanly Surgical Weight Loss Center and Albemarle Surgical Associates, which is located next to our office. She obtained her degree from Stanly Community College in 2010 and is a 2007 graduate of South Stanly High School.

Debbie Medlin, patient services representative, has over 20 years of experience working in medical practices. She will assist you in your registration process and help obtain health insurance authorization from your provider prior to bariatric surgery. In her spare time, she enjoys watching her son play sports.