Providing Excellence in Anesthesia Care for Southern Arizona since 1985
SAA is a group practice of highly trained and experienced physicians and CRNAs providing a full range of anesthesia services at private hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in the Tucson area.
Our primary objective is making your procedure as safe and pain free as possible.
Throughout the years, SAA has never lost sight of its founding principles which have allowed SAA to thrive and prosper. These same principles have also attracted the ‘best and brightest’ anesthesiologists and CRNAs, and SAA has had remarkable success recruiting new physicians and CRNAs from the top training programs in the country.
Jan joined Southern Arizona Anesthesia in 2024. She has lived in the Tucson area for most of her life. She has extensive experience in credentialing physicians and allied health professionals at Northwest Medical Center, Santa Cruz Regional Medical Center, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Currently, she is using this experience to onboard new providers and maintain privileges at Hospitals, Surgery Centers, and various health plans. Jan is a Certified Professional Medical Services Management (CPMSM) and a Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist (CPCS) through the National Association of Medical Staff Services. In her free time, Jan likes to go boating and camping at Lake Roosevelt, visiting Tombstone, and spending time with family and friends.
Cheryl Vinyard
Coding Coordinator
Cheryl joined SAA/ASA in 2003 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility, from receptionist to data entry to coder and is now our Coding Manager. Outside of work, Cheryl keeps quite busy crafting, camping, boating, reading, and spending time with her family and pets.
Lola Gray
Office Manager
Lola was born in Columbus Ohio but moved to Arizona as a child. She has worked in various positions in the medical field for nearly 35 years. She worked for SAA/ASA for 14 years doing billing and coding, before moving to Show Low, AZ for a couple of years, where she worked at opening the Heber/Overgaard Clinic and in Human Resources at Show Low hospital. Lola rejoined ASA in 2012 and was promoted to Billing Coordinator in 2015, and Office Manager in 2022. She enjoys camping, fishing and campfires.
Screven Farmer, MD
Secretary
Dr. Farmer was an undergraduate at Georgia Tech, where he swam competitively. He was a whitewater kayaker before anyone knew what that was. He earned his MD at Emory University, completed an internship at the University of Arizona, and residency at The University of Wisconsin. He has been with Southern Arizona Anesthesia for over 30 years and has occupied a number of leadership positions, including service on the SAA board of directors, Pima County Medical Society board, two terms as St. Joseph’s Chief of Anesthesia, and as Chief of Staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital
He is a board member and past President of the Arizona Medical Association, and is President elect of the Arizona Society of Anesthesiologists. He also serves on the board of the Carondelet Foundation. He holds lifetime Board certification in Anesthesiology and recently completed voluntary recertification.
Dr. Farmer has been married to Terri Farmer for over 30 years. She is a doctorally prepared nurse practitioner who has her own practice with an emphasis on bariatric issues and adolescent and family mental health issues. They are proud parents of three adult boys. Dr. Farmer’s interests include health care policy, economics, and evolutionary biology. He is an avid scuba diver, hiker, skier, mountain biker, and occasional white water kayaker, martial artist, and swimmer.
Mark Bazzell, MD
President
Mark received his undergraduate degree in marketing and his medical degree from the University of Kentucky. After an insternship at the University of Pittsburgh and residency in anesthesiology at Tufts University, he completed a fellowship in critical care medicine at the University of Florida. Dr. Bazzell gained additional experience teaching at the Mayo Clinic as well as the University of Arizona before joining SAA in 2020.
Innovation
Contributing to the advancement of science and clinical knowledge.
Current and former SAA physicians have made significant contributions to the advancement of science and clinical knowledge in the field of anesthesiology, both through basic science research and through studies on the clinical efficacy and utility of various anesthetic techniques. Members of SAA have published hundreds of research papers in many of the most prestigious international medical journals, authored numerous chapters in textbooks used to educate physicians, and have presented their research or lectured at numerous major national and international conferences. In addition, members of SAA have served on the teaching staff at many prestigious institutions, including Harvard Medical School, Yale University School of Medicine, Northwestern University, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Arizona.
Leadership
Fostering excellence through leadership in the medical community.
Members of SAA have a long record of leadership in the medical community, including the Pima County Medical Society, Arizona Society of Anesthesiologists, the Arizona Medical Association, American College of Physician Executives, and the Board of Trustees of local hospitals. SAA physicians have recently served as Chief-of-Staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Northwest Medical Center, and the Carondelet Heart & Vascular Institute. SAA physicians also have served as the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at many local hospitals, including St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital, The Carondelet Heart & Vascular Institute, Northwest Medical Center, and Foothills Surgery Center.
Coverage
Providing dedicated and reliable coverage every hour and every day of the year.
SAA physicians and CRNAs provide coverage 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and provide services at numerous hospitals and surgery centers in Tucson. In addition, we are contracted with all major insurance carriers, representing over 97% of all patients seen at the facilities at which we practice, and all SAA physicians and CRNAs participate in both Medicare and AHCCCS.
Community
Strengthening our community through involvement local organizations.
Members of SAA are known for their involvement in the community, and are active in numerous community organizations, including the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs, Youth Soccer, Little League, Bobby Sox, Junior League, Habitat for Humanity, school boards, philharmonic orchestras, singing groups, and religious groups.
Quality
Providing the highest levels of exceptional care, with a stellar track record.
SAA has been recognized as a leader in providing the highest levels of exceptional care. Our physicians and CRNAs have trained at most of the top programs in the country, and SAA’s malpractice loss ratio is among the best in the country (six times better than national norms). Even our rates of side effects such as post-operative nausea & vomiting, sore throats or headaches are a small fraction of the national average.
David M. Joseph, MD
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Joseph received a degree in biomedical engineering (with a minor in economics) from MIT, where he received numerous honors, including a faculty award as the top engineer in his class. As a Biomedical design engineer at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dr. Joseph spent seven years designing and developing medical products. Dr. Joseph received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and served a residency in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowships at both the MGH and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He is board certified in pain management as well as anesthesiology and critical care.
Dr. Joseph received his management training at the Sloan School of Management at MIT and the American College of Physician Executives. Dr. Joseph has also served as the Director of the Healthcare Division of an international consulting firm, and as Chief Medical Officer of four medical device companies. Dr. Joseph has published extensively in the field of medical management, served as a columnist for Healthcare Business Digest, been awarded advanced standing in the American College of Physician Executives, has been elected to membership in the Presidents Circle of the American Management Association, the steering committee of the National Association of Corporate Directors, and named as one of “America’s Top Doctors” in medical management.
Dr. Joseph has served on the finance committee of the Arizona Medical Association, as a Director of APAC, a medical malpractice insurer (subsidiary of FPIC, over $1B in assets; NASDAQ: FPIC), on the Executive Advisory Board of The Doctor’s Company (the nation’s largest physician-owned malpractice insurer, with $4B in assets and $1.4B in reserves), on the examining committee of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network ($157B in assets), on the Advisory Council for Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCH, $55B in assets), on the Client Advisory Council for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS, over $800B in assets) and as a consultant to Deloitte-Touche and Johnson & Johnson. He has served as a managing partner of a small investment fund as well as a director, trustee, consultant or advisory board member for numerous organizations, ranging from hospitals to start-up companies to Fortune 500 corporations.
He is the inventor or co-inventor of over a dozen devices, is a founding member of the Desert Angels, and has been an advisor to the Tucson Technology Incubator and the Economic Development Council. He also serves on the Educational Council of MIT, the Advisory Board of the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation, as an Advisor for the Harvard i-Lab, and on the Leadership Council of the Education Foundation. An avid international traveler, Dave is a member of the Century Club, having visited over 125 countries on all seven continents, and was appointed by Her Majesty, The Queen of England, as a Fellow of the Royal Overseas League.
Dr. Joseph joined SAA in 1989, and has served as CEO of SAA since 1995.
