 Drs. Hugh and Connie Carithers founded our group in 1941. Since that time, the practice has been located in the Riverside section of town, serving the children of Jacksonville, North Florida and South Georgia. Both husband and wife took it upon themselves to provide excellent care for children locally and to improve the standards for practicing pediatrics both at the state and national level. Dr. Hugh did much of the original research on Cat Scratch Disease and was an examiner for the American Board of Pediatrics and Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Connie worked tirelessly to develop local and national standards for day care centers and was a pioneer in adolescent medicine.
Dr.
Robert Threlkel joined Dr. Hugh and Dr. Connie in 1971. He rapidly followed their example in assuming a leadership role to improve the quality of care for children in the Jacksonville area, through patient care as well as serving on various hospital committees and medical organizations. Dr. Threlkel has taken an active role in the American Academy of Pediatrics and was an examiner for the American Board of Pediatrics. He is currently on the Board of Trustees for Wolfson Children's Hospital.
During the next fifteen
years, the practice showed steady growth. Dr.
Robert Colyer, who grew up in the practice under the care of Drs. Hugh and Connie, joined the group in 1977. Dr. Julie
Baker became a member of the group in 1983. Both of these physicians entered into leadership positions in the community as well. Dr. Colyer has done exemplary work with The Ronald McDonald House, the Youth Crisis Center and the Florida Pediatric Society, and is past Chief of Staff for Wolfson Children's Hospital. Dr. Baker volunteers much of her time for the Children's Home Society.
During the 1980's the group saw other changes. Dr. Connie had to cut back on her hours as she valiantly fought Malignant Melanoma, from which she died in 1988. Dr. Paul Robinson was with the practice from 1987- 1994, when he left to pursue a career in Adolescent Medicine at the University of Missouri. Dr. Hugh retired from the practice of medicine in 1989. As Jacksonville grew and the needs of its children became more complex, our physicians wanted to have a place to practice in which they could better serve those needs. They therefore built the current
office at 2121 Park Street, which opened in
1987.
Dr.
James Cheek joined the practice in 1990. He has followed the example of his senior partners in community service and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Bridge of Northeast Florida and is past Chief of Pediatrics at St. Vincent's Medical Center. The physicians hired a full-time office manager, Marie Louvier, in 1993, to deal with the rapid change of medical practice, including the advent of managed care. Following the departure of Dr. Robinson,
Dr. Wendy Sapolsky, who went to high school in
Jacksonville, returned to the community and joined
the group in 1995.
 In 1997, the practice continued to grow with the addition of Dr. Kim Dal Porto and Dr. Raoul Sanchez, who had finished their residencies at UAB. Dr. Dal Parto, also a Jacksonville native, had spent a winter working with Dr. Bakers as a college student, inspiring her to pursue pediatrics with the same passion she saw exemplified in the practice. Dr. Raoul Sanchez grew up in Miami and brought rich diversity to the group with his Spanish culture and speaking.
In 1998, Dr.
Amy Hardman also became a member of the group
following her Pediatric Residency and a year-long
fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology. This brought
the number of active physicians in the group to
eight.
The practice finished the 1990's with two major changes. First, to better serve families in the most rapidly growing parts of Jacksonville, the group opened a second office in the Southside area in April 1999. Second, and most important, the current physicians decided to honor Drs. Hugh and Connie Carithers in appreciation for their hard work for the children of Jacksonville by naming our practice The Carithers Pediatric Group.
In October 2002 Dr.Thomas Connolly joined the group afterfinishing his military commitment. He also has roots in Jacksonville -- family, high school, and college. In October 2003 Dr. Anne Egan joined the practice after working for a private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. She, too, was a former patient of the practice as a child.
At the end of 2007, Dr. Robert Threlkel retired from the practice after 30 plus years of compassionate service to our patients. By March of 2008, the practice had two former patients, Miss Leah Jones and Miss Meg Cheney, join as our first pediatric nurse practitioners. Dr. Andreae A. Shaw joined the group after finishing her pediatric residency in Gainesville, Florida. April of 2009 had two exciting events take place. The practice moved the Perimeter Park office to the Center One building off of Deerwood Parkway. This new location will give our patients more office space as well as provide a larger parking facility. Also Mrs. Katie Mershon joined the practice as the third pediatric nurse practitioner, growing the practice to thirteen providers.
The current members of The Carithers Pediatric Group will always remember the legacy of Dr. Hugh and Dr. Connie and try to emulate their selfless devotion to their patients as well as their steadfast leadership in the community.
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