Everyone at Gulf Coast Addiction Medical is here to help with your recovery and you can expect to be treated with dignity and respect by polite, well-educated, highly-skilled, motivated professionals.
Gulf Coast Addiction Medical is licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families to provide substance abuse services and counseling to both, adults and adolescents. With a combined 60 years of staff experience, we are experts in treating alcohol and/or other drug addictions, including prescription pain medication dependence.
Mark G. Stavros, MD, FACEP, ABAM – Medical Director
Mark G. Stavros, MD, FACEP, ABAM is an experienced physician who has been practicing medicine for over 18 years and is board-certified in Emergency and Addiction medicine. Dr. Stavros served at Eglin Air Force Base’s Regional Hospital from 1996 until 2000. He also served as the Medical Director for the Emergency Department and EMS director for Eglin AFB, was faculty for the Eglin AFB Family Practice Residency, and served as IDMT Preceptor and Curriculum Director during those same years. After an honorable discharge from the armed forces in 2000, Dr. Stavros began seeing patients in the emergency rooms and trauma centers throughout the Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Escambia county areas. Dr. Stavros has now expanded to providing services to the Gulf Coast in various Emergency Rooms and currently provides emergency medicine services for Emergency Medicine Group, LTD across Coastal Mississippi. It was during this time providing emergency care to patients with addiction issues that he recognized there was an urgent need for a medically driven addiction treatment in the Gulf Coast area and agreed to join Gulf Coast Addiction Medicine to remedy this problem.
Dr. Stavros joined Gulf Coast Addiction Medicine in its previous incarnation, Access Recovery Solutions in 2009 as a consulting physician, and then became the Medical Director in 2011. As his experience and focus in addiction medicine grew, Dr. Stavros earned his Diplomat Certification from the American Board of Addiction Medicine in 2012. Dr. Stavros purchased Access Recovery Solutions in 2015 from its corporate parent.
Dr. Stavros currently coordinates Florida State University College of Medicine’s Emergency Medicine curriculum and training of third- and fourth-year medical students. He is the Education Director for Emergency Medicine for the College of Medicine and is a Clinical Associate Professor at Florida State University, College of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences. Furthermore he serves as the Clerkship Director in Emergency Medicine at the Pensacola Regional Medical School Campus. He also currently serves as a staff medical officer for the Disaster Medicine Assistance Team and partakes in mission trips to other countries to provide much needed medical care.
During his career, Dr. Stavros has served as a Preceptor for the University of Florida, Physician Assistant Program at West Florida Regional Hospital and was an attending physician in their Emergency Department. He also served as the Assistant Medical Director of the West Florida Hospital Emergency Department. Dr. Stavros has been an attending physician for the Emergency Departments at Santa Rosa Medical Center, Sacred Heart Hospital and Baptist Hospital. Furthermore, Dr. Stavros currently is a Flight Physician for Lifeguard Air Ambulance. He is currently the Medical Director of the Pensacola State College Paramedic and EMT program.
Christine Y. Hurst, RCSWI, CAP – Counselor
Christine Yi Hurst has worked and been interested in different areas of the social service field with her primary focus in addiction treatment. She enjoys her work at Gulf Coast Addiction Medicine as an addiction counselor, where she has been employed since 2011. Christine completed her Florida State University, Master of Social Work internship at Second Chance of NWFL working with Traumatic and Acquired Brain Injury patients. She has also volunteered at the Salvation Army’s Domestic Violence Program and Life Management Center’s Foster Parents Support Services. Ms. Hurst has been an active member of the Suicide Prevention Awareness Response and Education Coalition since 2011 and has served as Co-Chair since 2012. Ms. Hurst is also a member of the Florida Substance Abuse Mental Health Planning & Advisory Council and was appointed Secretary in 2013. This Council is responsible for reviewing and monitoring Florida’s Federal Block Grant Funding in excess of 100 million dollars. She actively participates in interagency coalitions including the Circuit 14 Children’s Forum as well as Healthy Start’s Interagency Meeting.
Ms. Hurst earned her Master of Social Work degree from Florida State University at Panama City in 2013, and her Bachelor of Social Work from FSU, Panama City, in 2011. She recently earned her Florida and ICRC credential as a Certified Addiction Professional and she is pursuing her License in Clinical Social Work.
Nadine Pearish – MSN, RN, Counselor
Nadine Pearish has over 30 years nursing experience in a variety of healthcare settings, specializing in Emergency/Trauma. She started her nursing career as a Licensed Practical Nurse having received a Certificate as a Graduate Practical Nurse from Butler County Community College in 1982. Nadine received an Associates of Science Degree in Nursing from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1986, a Bachelor of Science Degree: Professional Arts from Saint Joseph’s College in 1993, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Kaplan University in 2012, and a Master of Science Degree in Nursing: Nurse Educator from Kaplan University in 2015.
She is currently pursuing her certification as a Certified Addiction Professional. She received an honorable discharge from the armed forces in 2004, after serving 14 years as a nurse in the reserves. In 2013, Nadine recognized her passion for addiction and became a co-facilitator for the Florida Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN), which she remains actively involved in. She has been employed at Gulf Coast Addiction Medicine since 2014. Nadine integrates her medical knowledge with her educational background to educate others on the disease concept of addiction.
Jennifer L. Burkett – Office Manager, Collections Specialist
Jennifer Burkett is an accomplished manager and collections specialist with over fifteen years of experience in management, medical billing and collections. She has worked in the medical billing and coding field for over 13 years in wide variety of medical specialties including: Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy, and Outpatient Mental Health/Substance Abuse.
Jennifer is the Office Manager/Collection Specialist for Gulf Coast Addiction Medicine. Her responsibilities encompass many aspects of our business, including AP/AR, billing, sales, and customer service. Her organization skills keep our team running smoothly.
Ms. Burkett graduated from Haney Technical School in 2003 with her High School Diploma in addition to her Business and Billing Manager Certificates. Jennifer earned her Associates in Arts in Business Administration at Gulf Coast State College in 2006.
