Dr. Mary C. Yankaskas

Physicians’ Primary Care of SWFL was formed in 1996 by several of the area’s best-known independent physician groups.

The three founding doctors still with Physicians’ Primary Care are Dr. John Ritrosky, a pediatrician; Dr. Charles Curtis, a family medicine physician, and Dr. Mary Yankaskas, the managing physician for the entire practice.

“From the business aspect, it means we have control of our business. As physician owners, the decisions we make impact us personally,” said Yankaskas. “So, we’re thoughtful about the decisions we make and not only how they affect our patients, but ourselves and our staff, too.”

Being physician-owned also allows them to be more nimble and adaptive.

Dr. John Ritrosky Jr.

“Like through COVID,” Yankaskas said. “As things were happening and changing on a daily basis, we were able to quickly gather everyone together and learn how to use Zoom very quickly and make decisions for the practice and keep it open and keep our patients and staff safe.”

The multi-specialty group consists of over 47 providers who specialize in things like internal medicine, family practice and pediatrics.

They have offices in Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral, where there are seven.

The medium-sized independent group of physicians are entrepreneurs who practice medicine and want to be able to actively manage their practice.

“In an employed model, the owners may or may not be physicians,” Yankaskas said. “And when they’re not, they may not have walked in our shoes. The things that are important to us may not be important to non-physicians.”

Dr. Charles H. Curtis

Physicians’ Primary Care’s diverse group of specialties means it’s able to provide healthcare to a wide array of patients including newborns, children, teenagers, adults and seniors.

The physicians work collaboratively with the health system and other groups in Southwest Florida to care for their patients.

“With all of the changes in healthcare and the loss of small groups, it is a testament to our group that we continue to grow and innovate,” Yankaskas said. “We believe strongly in physician-owned groups and the need for physician leadership in healthcare.”

Recently, Physicians’ Primary Care of SWFL was the recipient of three national awards from the American Heart Associa-tion and the American Medical Association.

The accolades are in recognition of the group’s commitment to improving the health of its patients in cholesterol management, controlling blood pressure and management of Type II diabetes.

As managing physician, Yankaskas oversees the clinical operations and financial aspects of the practice.

“When you look at corporate structure, it’s sort of like the chief medical officer,” she said. “But I also do a lot of non-clinical work as well.”

Yankaskas said her favorite part about what she does is getting to work with partners who really care about their patients.

“And they are willing to be innovative and help treat their patients,” she said. “Our doctors are passionate about their patient care and by having the structure that we do, they can take care of patients and we can take care of everything else, like the clinical and operational support.”

“They don’t have to be involved in the day-to-day nitty-gritty of managing the practice.”

Physicians’ Primary Care of SWFL also offers lab work, radiology and physical therapy.

Throughout the years, Yankaskas said the staff has been an integral part of the practice.

“We have 13 employees who have been with us for 25 years,” she said. “We’re a good place to work even through this craziness of COVID.”

For a list of all of the Physicians’ Primary Care of SWFL locations, visit https://www.ppcswfl.com/locations/.

Cape Coral locations

Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; Closed, Saturday and Sunday

Family Practices

Where: 1304 S.E. Eighth Terrace.

Information: 239-574-1988 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Where: 1255 Viscaya Parkway, No. 200

Information: 239-574-1988 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Internal Medicine

Where: 1708 Cape Coral Parkway, No. 4

Information: 239-945-5940 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Lab

Where: 1265 Viscaya Parkway.

Information: 239-574-6733 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Pediatric Offices

Where: 1261 Viscaya Parkway, No. 101

Information: 239-573-7337 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Where: 1265 Viscaya Parkway.

Information: 239-573-7337 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Radiology

Where: 1304 S.E. Eighth Terrace.

Information: 239-772-7737 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/

Physical Therapy

Where: 1261 Viscaya Parkway, No. 102

Information: 239-242-2641 and https://www.ppcswfl.com/