Meet the PPA Team

At Pain and Palliative Associates of Arizona (PPA), our team of dedicated doctors and nurse practitioners is committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care. With extensive experience in pain management and palliative medicine, we specialize in supporting patients facing complex and chronic conditions. Our goal is to enhance comfort, improve quality of life, and provide expert guidance for both patients and their families. We believe in a “patient-first” approach, ensuring that every individual receives personalized care tailored to their unique needs. At PPA, we stand by our patients every step of the way—because no one should navigate their pain alone.

  • Physician Lead and Founder of PPA

    Dr. Jay Patel has over a decade experience in palliative care, pain management and hospice care. He completed his internal medicine training from The Brooklyn Hospital/Weil Cornell University and pursued hospice and palliative medicine fellowship from University of Nevada, Reno. Dr. Patel has led a transdisciplinary team of palliative care and also started a fellowship program and served as a program director for 5 years before transitioning to private practice.

    Dr. Patel has served in multiple committees during his career including ethics committee, quality council, GME committee and credential committee. In his spare time, he enjoys time with his family including wife and three children as well as loves spending time with his friends. He also enjoys travelling, hiking and movies.

  • Brad was born and raised in Hutchinson, MN and graduated from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2016. He completed an Internship program at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, OK before Family Medicine residency at Southern Regional AHEC in Fayetteville, NC. Brad then completed the Hospice and Palliative Care Fellowship program sponsored by Creighton University at St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, following the Minnesota Vikings and Twins, camping, traveling, plane spotting and astronomy. He is an active member of St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center Ethics Committee, member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

  • Dr. Bansal was born in India and grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. After graduating from medical school, she completed her Internal Medicine residency at Wyckoff Hospital in Brooklyn, NY where she served as Chief Resident. She completed her fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Dignity Health/St. Josephs Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. She is double board certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice/Palliative Care and is passionate about helping patients and their loved ones navigate end of life care. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband and two young children.

  • Dr. Saleem graduated from Al-Kindy College of Medicine / Baghdad University in Iraq, then moved to New York City, where he worked in medical research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He then got accepted into an Internal Medicine residency at New York Medical College. His dedication to helping and feeling rewarded by being available for others made him passionate about Hospice and Palliative Medicine, for which he completed a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Creighton University. Dr. Saleem is an outdoorsman, loves traveling and exploring new places, different cultures, and food.

  • Director of Nursing

    Emily Tyler is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a rare Arizona native. She attended Grand Canyon University, in Phoenix Arizona, where she received a Master’s Degree in Nursing with a specialty in Acute Care Nursing. She graduated Sigma Theta Tau and is a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner with a specialty in Adult and Gerontology. She is also Board Certified in Pain Management Nursing through the American Nurse Credentialing Center. While working full time in Pain Management, she returned to Grand Canyon to complete her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in 2018. She continues to be involved in academia and serves as a full time professor at the same university she graduated from and enjoys teaching in the Graduate Nursing program for future nurse practitioners. Emily received the Daisy Award from Grand Canyon University in 2021, signifying her ongoing dedication to healthcare, including compassion provided to not only her patients, but to her students and fellow healthcare workers.

    In her spare time, you can find Emily spending quality time with her husband and their three children. She enjoys reading/writing, crafting, and tinkering around with her vintage VW Beetle, unless it’s Sunday, then you’ll find her watching football and hopefully watching the Cardinals win!

  • Chaplain Sedona Montelongo is a Board Certified Chaplain (2007) with an Advanced Practice Certification in Palliative Care and Hospice (2014). Sedona is a faculty member for Creighton University Medical School as the spiritual care educator for the palliative care physician fellows and sits on the committee with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) and the National Association for Catholic Chaplains (NACC) to educate, promote and certify future palliative care advanced practice chaplains. Sedona is also an affiliate instructor for the California State University Institute for Palliative
    Care. Sedona served as the Chair of the Certification Commission for NACC and was recently elected to the Board of Directors.

  • He is a senior healthcare administrator with a decade of successful experience in strategic revenue cycle management, complemented with a deep understanding of clinical operations. Clients find value in his ability to bridge complex concepts and facilitate change management to channel RC solutions as an extension to their back office. He has knowledge of and a continued interest in business processes improvement, and technology-directed process optimization.

    He has BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, and MS in Healthcare Leadership & Management from the University of Texas at Dallas.

  • 

Sara Parks-Conyers is a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner working in Palliative Care with PPA. Her education journey was to obtaining Associates in Nursing at Gateway Community College, Bachelor of Science in Nursing at University of Phoenix and Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner at University of Phoenix. She fell in love with Palliative care and hospice with the personal experience of her grandmother. She loves to spend time with her mom, twin sister and try new restaurants. Her favorite thing to do is to travel and go on the Disney cruise with her family.

  • Jaskanwal Kaur Sachdev is a dedicated medical profession with over 11 years of experience in the field. She embarked on her career journey as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), progressing through to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP) at PPA, where she provides compassionate care to patients grappling with pain and serious illnesses. She is passionate about holistic patient-centered care, prioritizing quality of life. Beyond her professional responsibilities, Jaskanwal loves spending quality time with her family and friends, gardening, walking, hiking, and cooking.

  • Rebecca has been practicing in adult and geriatric medicine for over 20 years.  She received her initial Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from The University of Virginia.  After teaching at the University of Virginia School of Nursing and working at the University of Virginia Health Sciences system in nursing education, she pursued her post master’s Nurse Practitioner Degree at the George Washington University.  


    Rebecca practiced in the private health care setting in Internal Medicine for the first 10 years of her career.  At that 10-year mark, she moved to a solo House Call Primary Care Position serving homebound elders and those with advanced care needs. It is here, that she found her passion in Hospice and palliative care. She believes that it is a gift to serve others as life transitions from achievements to memories that endure. Rebecca enjoys being a part of the developing adult lives of two college children and two high schoolers.  Hiking, working out and being involved in church activities are what makes for a blessed and balanced life.  

  • Khoa Pham is a Family Nurse Practitioner. Khoa graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering and later on returned to his alma mater to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In 2016, Khoa received a Master of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University. Khoa enjoys educating patients on how to prevent injury, living with chronic pain, and addiction/substance abuse cessation. When Khoa is not working, he enjoys spending time with his growing family–especially with his two dogs, Bae and Tae. Khoa is also a sports fanatic with a love for football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. Khoa is still a Cardinals and Suns fan, but they have broken his heart far too many times!

  • Julie is a licensed nurse practitioner with a doctorate in health science. Dr. Julie has over 25 years in health care and loves to help people in nontraditional health care ways. Julie is a highly sought-after Nurse Practitioner well-trained in Emergency Medicine/Trauma, Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Urology, Women’s Health Care with Hormone Replacement, Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, and Aesthetics, Pain Management, Family Medicine, and Wellness.

  • Jason Vincent, a nurse practitioner specializing in pain management. With an extensive background in healthcare, including experience in cancer treatment, emergency services, and telemetry cardiac care, Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his practice.

    His journey in healthcare began as a Telemetry registered nurse caring for patients who were post operative cardiac patients in 2008, where he gained firsthand experience in quality patient care. Called to expands his career, experience, and knowledge, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2015. Jason pursued advanced education shortly thereafter and obtained his master’s degree in nursing from Grand Canyon University in 2020.

  • Kendrick grew up in Portland Oregon and has lived in Phoenix, Arizona for the past 8 years. After 4 years of being an RN in multiple settings, he completed his Master of Science in Family Nurse Practitioner through Olivet Nazarene University. Kendrick is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. He enjoys spending his free time with his friends and family. Some of Kendrick’s hobbies include cooking, fitness, sports and podcasts.

  • I have been a nurse practitioner for over 5 years working with geriatrics and pain management within acute care centers.  I believe in helping my patients understand their health and find ways to help them live their fullest lives.  During my free time I also enjoy hiking, biking, traveling and experiencing new things.

  • Liana Flores is a nurse practitioner with an extensive background in multi-modality and interventional pain management. Her journey into healthcare began at Arizona State University, where she laid the foundation for her nursing career. Her years as a registered nurse were spent in orthopedics at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, where she provided both bedside care and helped to develop the total joint replacement patient education program. Following this, she pursued a graduate degree in nursing practice at the University of Arizona, with an emphasis on rural Arizona communities and nursing education. Her advanced nursing practice career has focused on both outpatient and inpatient pain management, including expertise in the treatment of opioid use disorder in patients with chronic pain. Balancing pain management with opioid dependence is a complex journey, with a focus on long-term relief and recovery. She is board-certified in both nursing practice and pain management nursing, allowing her to stay at the forefront of the latest advancements in pain management. She is an active member of the American Society of Pain Management Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the American Nurses Association. 

    When not providing high quality patient care, she enjoys spending time outdoors camping, gardening, and paddle boarding with her family. She finds inspiration in nature and believes in the healing power of connecting to the natural world.

  • Ameika White is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner with 22 years of ICU experience.  She has always enjoyed taking care of people and helping them be the  best version of themselves. She is a mom of two boys …ages 25 and 20. She is also very excited to say that she is a first time Grandmother!  She has been married to her best friend for 2 years.   One thing she has always enjoyed doing is spending time with family. Usually there’s a great meal involved and of course fabulous music ! As a hobby …she loves extreme couponing ! 

  • Jesse Burton is a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner that specializes in cardiothoracic, neurotrauma, and surgical patients in the ICU setting as well as palliative and pain management. He completed his undergraduate at Arizona State University and his graduate program at Grand Canyon University. He holds multiple certifications including his ACNPC-AG and CCRN from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).