UF Behavioral Health Hub – Pensacola serves children ages 0-21 years in the Panhandle/Big Bend Region. We receive consult referrals from participating and enrolled providers in the following counties: Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton, and Washington.
- Creekside/Pensacola Phone: 850-476-0977
- Creekside/Pensacola Email: UFBHH_PNS@creeksidepa.com
- Creekside/Pensacola Address: Creekside Psychiatric Center | 5190 Bayou Blvd, #6 | Pensacola, FL 32503
- Balk & Associates/Panama City Address: Susan Balk Kradel, MD Child Adolescent & Adult Psychiatry | 1000 West 11th Street | Panama City, FL 32401
Providers:
R. Scott Benson, MD / Pensacola
Dr. Benson received his medical degree from Emory University. He trained in Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. After serving as a pediatrician for two years with the U.S. Navy at Camp Lejeune, he decided to pursue training in child psychiatry. He completed his residency/fellowship in Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Duke University. Dr. Benson is Board Certified in Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Susan Balk Kradel, MD / Panama City
After growing up in central Florida, Dr. Balk attended college at Duke University and medical school at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. After psychiatric residency in West Virginia, she served as a psychiatrist in the United States Navy. She later completed additional training at University of South Alabama and the University of Florida to specialize in psychiatric treatment of children. Doctor Balk began practicing in Panama City in 1997.
Doctor Balk has been actively engaged in the Panama City community in many ways since 1996. She has held leadership roles in the local medical community, and on school, religious, and nonprofit organizational boards. In her free time, she enjoys her family and pets, travelling, yoga, dance, and outdoor physical and water activities. Her indoor interests include reading, crossword puzzles, and playing the piano. She is a certified yoga instructor.
Dr. Balk works closely with psychologists and therapists locally. Three mental health counselors work in the office, maintaining their own independent private practices. This arrangement allows frequent communication and collaboration (with the consent of the patient or client), and eases referrals.
Andres Pumariega, MD, Medical Director
Dr. Pumariega is a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with over 40 years’ experience in multiple children’s mental health settings, including consultation to pediatrics. He is Professor and Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Florida. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Miami. Dr. Pumariega did his psychiatry residency and child psychiatry fellowship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He is a national expert in community systems of care for children’s mental health, having helped to start many state level children’s mental health programs, including the New Jersey Pediatric Psychiatry Collaborative Program before arriving in Florida. He has published over 250 scientific publications, has over 250 presentation abstracts and has received numerous national awards for his work, including being named to the University of Miami Medical Alumni Hall of Fame (1999). Recipient of the 2024 Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for Distinguished Career Achievement by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and APA Foundation.
Richard D’Alli, MD, MEd, DLFAPA
Dr. D’Alli is Associate Professor Emeritus in the UF College of Medicine and currently Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the UF Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has 30 years of experience as a clinician, educator, and administrator in pediatric age mental health programs at four academic medical centers. He received his undergraduate degree and master of education degree from the University of Florida and medical degree from the University of Arizona. Dr. D’Alli completed his residency in psychiatry and fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. After serving as Director of Community Child Psychiatry Programs at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, he returned to Duke to build a multidisciplinary, pediatric age behavioral health clinic over 13 years. He joined the UF faculty in both Pediatrics and Psychiatry in 2015, building a developmental and behavioral health program embedded in the Department of Pediatrics and supervising the outpatient autism clinic in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. D’Alli is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
Sarah Vas, MD
Dr. Vas is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She is interested in prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use in children and adolescents, using a youth guided and family driven model. Dr. Vas completed her undergraduate and graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis and her medical education in Manipal University-Kasturba Medical College/American University of Antigua College of Medicine. She moved to Gainesville to complete the combined Psychiatry – Child Psychiatry Fellowship track at University of Florida. During her Child Psychiatry training, Dr. Vas recognized the importance of prevention of substance use and addiction right from adolescence. As a natural alignment to Dr. Vas’ interests, she went on to complete an Addiction Medicine Fellowship at UF. During her Addiction Medicine Fellowship, Dr. Vas continued to treat children and adolescents as part-time Adjunct Faculty. She remained at UF as full time faculty and serves to train medical students, residents and fellows in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics.
Dr. Vas consistently serves her community through activities geared toward the prevention of mental illness and recovery. Dr. Vas is fluent in Spanish. She enjoys spending time with her family.
Administrative Team:
Kati Breton, BS, Program Director
Kati received her Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and began working in healthcare after relocating from New York City to Florida in 2000. She worked in pediatric primary care for six years before joining the Ped-I-Care team at the University of Florida. In this role, she served as the Director of Network Management, Contracting and Data Management for the health plan serving Title XIX and XXI children with special healthcare needs in the state of Florida. After 14 years at Ped-I-Care, she joined the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry to serve as the Program Director for the Gainesville and Panhandle Behavioral Health Hubs. Additionally, Kati is the Manager for the UF Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Program and works with leadership of both child psychiatry and psychology clinical programing.
Leslie Perez, MSW, LCSW, Care Coordinator/Case Manager
Leslie Perez is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Qualified Supervisor with nearly two decades of experience. Leslie completed her undergraduate Bachelors of Social Work degree at Radford University in Virginia and her Masters of Social Work degree at Florida State University. Additionally, she is a graduate of the FSU Harris Institute for Infant Mental Health. Throughout her career, Leslie has specialized in child and adolescent mental health services. She has provided counseling and case management services for state and government contracts in private practice, hospital, school, daycare, court, and military settings.
Stephanie C. Gann, BS, Program Coordinator/Data Analyst
Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida in 2008. She has worked in the healthcare field since 2003, starting in medical records for both a pediatric clinic and orthopedic clinic, then in transcription for the hospital. In 2012, she started as a contracting assistant for pediatric patient insurance and then worked as a liaison for network management, serving the Medicaid population of Florida. In 2019, she joined the Self-Insurance Program serving Florida’s Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine at FAU, FIU, FSU, UCF, and UF as an education/training specialist and database administrator, as well as the data analyst for the Florida Academic Healthcare Patient Safety Organization. 2023 has brought her to the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry to serve as the Program Coordinator and Data Analyst.
Sarah A. Ortega, MPH, Hub Assistant