About EliteER
The EliteER team brings over 20 years of experience in Emergency Medicine and has extensive expertise in patient care, education, quality improvements, hospital management, hyperbaric & wound care, process improvement, practice management and customer service.
Executive Staff
Ronald Charles, MD
Chief Executive Officer, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Ronald Charles is, a native Texan who is, is a residency trained, board certified emergency physician with over 20 years of clinical, academic, administrative and leadership experience. He is a strong advocate for emergency medicine, emergency physicians and the optimal care for all emergency patients. He believes that ER patients and those who care for them deserve better. He feels that it is time for ER doctors and their patients to demand to demand efficient and effective care, enhanced communication and elite customer service.
After graduating from Princeton University, Dr. Charles received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his medical training as Chief Resident in emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Charles is also certified in wound care and hyperbaric medicine.
Dr. Charles began his professional career in Dallas where Dr. Charles was when he was the first resident hired by UT Southwestern Medical School to assist with the start help build of the emergency medicine residency program at Parkland Hospital. Following After growing successes in teaching, training and research, he transferred to Houston to manage direct the LBJ Emergency Department for the UT Houston Medical Center. At LBJ, his innovative initiatives and positive leadership skills lead to revitalize an ED with minimal wait times, better trained residents, improved clinical outcomes and higher patient satisfaction. As his business interests intensified, he left the county system to work for some of the larger ER companies where his leadership titles ranged from medical director, regional area director to director of physician services. His diverse experience along with the varied lessons learned and skills developed during this time have continued to serve him well as he develops his corporation, EliteER PLLC.
Following his passion for change and, his belief that a better way exists, Dr. Charles developed and has been awarded three patents for concierge emergency medicine. Working in academic world and for large ER staffing companies reinforced his beliefs that change was needed and that something much better could be achieved. His vision and entrepreneurism have lead to the creation of EliteER, a better ER model and approach to patient care. Since it’s inception, he has surrounded himself with a leadership team that has allowed the company to grow and succeed. Every employee understands the company’s mission and the value of the individual doctor, each hospital and every patient.
Dr. Charles is married to Ilana Druker, PharmD and they have a beautiful daughter Mila. He is very involved in the community and enjoys sports, music, theater and travel.
Edward Downs
Chief Operating Office
As the COO of EliteER, Edward is responsible for all operational aspects of our company. He is an accomplished healthcare executive and brings over 30 years of experience to our team. He has strong operational and managerial skills, combined with his outstanding knowledge of the healthcare market. Edward has initiated and completed numerous platform and developmental acquisitions and sales. He has experience with new start ups including Bayshore Surgery Center in Pasadena, TX. He is skilled at startups and known for his expertise in hospital turnarounds while balancing delivery of quality care with revenue growth and financial efficiencies.
Edward has held CEO and COO positions at several hospital and healthcare entities, including corporate COO of Nexus Health Systems, Inc. in Houston, TX; CEO of South Hampton Hospital of in Dallas, TX.
Edward holds a Bachelor of Science degree in health care administration from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and Masters of Business Administration from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, TX. In addition, Downs has a background in nursing, having been a licensed nurse since 1980. His nursing career was focused primarily in Trauma, Critical Care, Flight Nursing, and numerous clinical administrative roles.
Jessica Curran, RT(R), RDMS
Executive Vice President
Jessica Curran joins EliteER as Executive Vice President of Operations and Business Development. With over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry applying a strong expertise in new Business Development, Marketing, EMR and Clinical Integration. Jessica is a strategic thinker who has a history of being a creative problem solver with a track record for developing effective business and technical solutions.
Prior to joining EliteER, Jessica was Director of Sales and Marketing for an EMR company (Certified Resellers for Allscripts Enterprise) where she led business development and established new client relations. She was involved in every aspect of converting and implementing clinics from paper to electronic.
From 2001 through 2010, Jessica was an International Clinical Consultant for a number of different healthcare clients including Syneron Inc., and The Vein Treatment Center. She specialized in advising physicians and clinic administrators on making appropriate business decisions when purchasing equipment, developing marketing strategies, budgeting and setting achievable goals. Jessica has worked in hospitals and clinics as Clinic Administrator, Sonographer (RDMS) and Radiographer RT(R).
Long Le, MD
Medical Director at Victory Hospital, Houston, TX
Long Le, M.D., is a board certified Family Medicine physician practicing in the state of Texas. Dr. Le graduated from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and finished his residency at Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program in Houston, Texas. Dr. Le is currently the medical director of emergency services at Victory Hospital in Houston’s medical center. He has certifications in ACLS, PALS and ATLS. Before joining EliteER he was a staff hospitalist at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital and worked in many community as well as surgical hospital emergency rooms. His professional interests include emergency and hospital medicine. His personal interests include traveling, hiking and the outdoors. He is married with two young children.
Param Maewal, MD
Medical Director at Victory Medical Center San Antonio, Texas
Param Maewal, MD, is a board certified Internal Medicine physician who was born in Temple, Texas and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas.
He currently works with EliteER as Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Victory Medical Center San Antonio, Texas.
Param completed his Doctorate of Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. He then completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Texas Southwestern, which is affiliated with Parkland Memorial Hospital, and passed the board certification exam. He has published papers in the field of cardiology and presented abstracts at national meetings in the field of nuclear cardiology. He has also worked in numerous different clinical settings including: outpatient clinic, hospital, and small to large emergency rooms throughout Texas.
He now resides in Austin and enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling.
Credentials include: ACLS, PALS.