Dr. Tom Erskine, M.D., FAAP
Dr. Erskine has been caring for children since 1999. Dr. Erskine was born in Scotland and came to the United States when he was 9 years old. He grew up in here in the valley and finished high school at Moon Valley High School. After high school he served four years in the United States Marine Corps. After obtaining his Bachelor of Science Degree from Arizona State University in 1993, he attended Ross University School of Medicine graduating in 1999. He completed his internship in family practice at Creighton University School of Medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska in 2000. He would move on to spend 3 years as a resident at Texas A& M University’s Scott & White Memorial Hospital including the third year as chief resident. He then completed 3 more years of fellowship at the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital in their Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship Program. He came to St. Joseph’s Hospital in 2006 and worked in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PICU) and was an attending there for four and a half years. During this time he started working at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in the newly opened PICU (as they were short staffed when opened) and in 2010 moved to Scottsdale Shea hospital as an attending full time to open their new PICU. In 2011, Dr. Erskine was part of the Medical Hands for Healing Mission in Rivas, Nicaragua. They completed over fifty surgery cases in five days. In 2012, he moved over to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center where he continues to practice today. He also currently works at Maricopa Integrated Health Systems in the PICU and pediatric burn unit(as a locums tenens) and is the Pediatric ER physician for North Valley Emergency Specialists (also as a locums tenens).
Dr. Erskine has been on the forefront of research during his career. In 2003-05, with guidance from Dr. John Kuluz, he did cell culture studies using leukocytes as inflammatory markers in traumatic injury to cultured astrocytes exposed to antiepileptic drugs. In 2004-06, he perfected surgical techniques with Dr. Gwenn McLaughlin, that involved placing a Doppler ultrasound flow-probe on the renal artery of rats. The flow-probe is then used to measure renal artery blood flow during chronic immunosuppressant exposure before and after potential reversal agents are given.
Dr. Erskine has maintained an active teaching role participating in lecture series at Scottsdale Shea and nursing lecture series in the PICU at Scottsdale Shea. He also was the PICU Curriculum Coordinator for the residency program at St. Joseph’s Hospital their last four and half years as a program. Dr. Erskine also participated in Consensus Statement on Brain Death Determination Arizona Pediatric ICU Consortium held at University of Arizona Diamond Children’s hospital in 2013.
In 2016, Dr. Erskine formed his own primary care pediatric practice called Maian Pediatrics.
He lives in Phoenix with his wife, a clinical lead PICU nurse at a local hospital, and with his son and daughter. He spends his free time volunteering at his children’s school to include participating in student education, providing first aid lecture help, as well as other activities. He also enjoys gardening in his backyard, and occasionally playing golf.
Dennise Reyes, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Dennise is a native of Arizona. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Dennise graduated from Central High School. She later married her high school sweetheart and has been married for 27 years. Together they have three children David, Sandy, and Christian. After the birth of her daughter, Sandy, who was born with a neural tube defect, Dennise chose to go into nursing to help care for her daughter.
After completing her Associates Degree in Nursing in 2003. Dennise continued her education and obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree in 2006 from Grand Canyon University. Dennise realized she had a passion for caring for children and decided to continue her education. In 2008, Dennise graduated from Arizona State University as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, specializing in Primary Care.
Dennise has worked within all areas of pediatrics. Her first position was at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center for two years as a nurse intern in postpartum caring for moms and newborn babies, a year later she moved to pediatrics. After graduating nursing school, she worked as a pediatric staff nurse for eleven years at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. She has also worked as a School Nurse for St. Gregory’s Catholic School for three years and has worked in primary care clinic as a Nurse Practitioner for three years in the west valley. In 2013, she started working as an inpatient Hospitalist Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, where she is currently employed full time at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center. She currently holds hospital privileges at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, Banner University Medical Center, and Cardon Children’s Medical Center.
After working inpatient for five years, Dennise decided to go back to school and obtain her Doctorate of Nursing Practice, specializing in Pediatric Acute Care. She obtained her Doctorate degree from Rush University, in Chicago, Illinois in 2018.
Dennise has volunteered her time to several schools; St. John Vianney Catholic School where she helped uninsured children obtain sport physicals. She also has volunteered her time to perform hearing and vision screening to her niece’s school in the Madison School District.
Dennise started working with Dr. Erskine at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in 2013. As colleague’s inpatient led her to work for Dr. Erskine at Maian Pediatrics in May of 2019.
Dennise enjoys reading, vacations on the beach, and taking long walks. Although she has taken care of thousands of children over the last 16 years of her career as both a nurse and a nurse practitioner, her ultimate goal is to make a difference in the life of at last one child. She continues to work towards that goal every day when caring for her patients and is passionate about giving her patients and their families 100% all the time.
Lynda Tarsitano
Lynda Tarsitano has worked on and off in the medical field for over twenty years. Working in different specialties, from OB/Gyn, Cardiac Surgery and Er records. Most recently helping Dr. Erskine open his practice. Before returning to the medical field, She and her husband of twenty five years had an import business. She loves traveling, having been to Bora Bora and the Cook Islands, China, Italy, Greece and Hong Kong. As well as the Caribbean and Alaska. It is always fun to go, but there is no place like home with our two German shepherds.