Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program Director Presented with Outstanding Physician Award

Capital Medical Society names Joseph Mazziotta, MD, recipient of 2024 Thomas L. Hicks, M.D. Outstanding Physician Award

Joseph Mazziotta, MD, Director of the Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Thomas L. Hicks, M.D. Outstanding Physician Award by Capital Medical Society for his leadership, demonstration of clinical excellence and active contribution to the education of future medical professionals. 

Early Life and Education

Born in Montclair, New Jersey and raised in Nutley, New Jersey, Dr. Mazziotta is the youngest of five children. During his junior year in high school, his family moved to Cape Coral, Florida. In fact, Dr. Mazziotta was in the first graduating class of Cape Coral High School. He then attended Edison Community College (now Florida SouthWestern State College) in Fort Myers, Florida, and the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biology. 

His postgraduate education continued in Tampa. In 1992, Dr. Mazziotta earned his medical degree from USF. His initial interest was emergency medicine, but after clinical rotations, he realized that a priority for him was to have the ability to track the patient’s long-term care and know “the rest of the story.” It was in his final year of medical school that he decided to pursue family medicine. He completed his residency at the Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program. There, he served as Chief Resident from 1994 to 1995 and was awarded the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Resident Teacher Award for demonstrating skills and interest in family medicine education. This is when his love for teaching began.

Achievements in Military Service

After residency graduation, he served as an attending physician in the United States Air Force for four years. He was assigned to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he also served as medical director of the smoking cessation program and was active in the physician assistant training program, earning the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 1997 and 1999. 

During his time in the military, he was deployed twice to the Middle East. In 1996, he was sent to Al-Aqaba, Jordan with the Humanitarian Civic Action Program. In 1997, he was sent to Cairo, Egypt with the Operation Bright Star Joint Task Force. There, he served as the Assistant Chief of Emergency Services for the Air Transportable Hospital (ATH). The ATH is a series of self-sufficient, interconnecting, expandable hardened shelters, sized to fit inside standard United States Air Force transport aircrafts and developed to provide primary emergency care and stabilization of patients prior to their evacuation to the definitive medical care facility. Following each of his deployments, he was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal for his notable achievements and exemplary service on behalf of the Air Force. 

A Commitment to Teaching

In 1999, following his four-year military service, his passion for teaching future physicians led him to return to the Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program as a faculty member. He remained on faculty until 2015, when Donald Zorn, MD, announced his retirement and recruited Dr. Mazziotta to assume leadership of the program. 

Since the residency program’s inception over 50 years ago, there have been more than 500 residency graduates. Dr. Mazziotta has been instrumental in teaching and training over half of them. When he reflects on the success of the program, he shares, “I’m grateful to have been a part of it and for the opportunity to create policy to improve the next generation of physicians that our community wants and needs.” 

In addition to his residency program director role, Dr. Mazziotta serves on the Clinical Assistant Faculty at the Florida State University College of Medicine, the Clinical Faculty at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine and as an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Specialty Focus on HIV, Wound Care

Dr. Mazziotta has always had a heart for the underserved. He has been caring for HIV patients his entire medical career. He has personally managed HIV patients in the office and in the hospital. He teaches HIV care to residents across the state through the Florida Academy of Family Physicians. In 2012, he gained certification from the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He is an Advisory Board Member for Big Bend Cares, a non-profit agency assisting people living with HIV. He also serves as an attending physician at the HIV Clinic at Big Bend Cares’ healthcare facility, Care Point Health and Wellness Center. He personifies the words of Sir William Osler, “the good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”

With an interest in skin surgery and wound care, Dr. Mazziotta also attained certification in wound care management. In 2005, he teamed up with L. Dan Kaelin, MD, and Thomas Lawhorn, MD, to open the Tallahassee Memorial Wound Healing Center. At the time, it was the busiest wound care center in the state of Florida. He has cared for many patients with chronic wounds and does so with patience, persistence and skill.

Leading in Emergency Management 

Along with his dedication to the clinical, administrative and educational aspects of medicine, he is a leader in disaster planning and emergency management. His curiosity in this field began during his training in biological warfare with the Air Force. Throughout his career, he has prioritized researching and educating the medical community when disasters infiltrate the United States, including the September 11 attacks, the anthrax attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He is also on the front lines in the aftermath of natural disasters. He has organized groups to assist other communities stricken by hurricanes, particularly in the gulf coast region, bringing basic supplies and medical resources. “Joe has always wanted to have as many tools in his toolbox as possible to help patients,” said Dr. Don Zorn, Dr. Mazziotta’s friend, colleague and predecessor. “A go-getter with a huge heart, he has excelled far beyond the typical family physician.”

He has been active on numerous committees with TMH, including the Graduate Medical Education Committee, Clinical Affairs Committee, Disaster Planning Committee, Patient Safety Committee, Chair of the Credentials Committee, Chair of the Medical Executive Committee and Board Director. Furthermore, he has published several articles in medical journals and given numerous presentations to healthcare organizations. 

Service to Others

Dr. Mazziotta has been involved in international and local missions. Locally, he has volunteered with Ability First to build ramps to help people with disabilities access their homes. He enlisted medical students and residents to assist him to learn the value and reward of serving. Internationally, he has traveled to Belize, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Nicaragua for medical mission work, and he often takes medical students and residents with him. Dr. Mazziotta recognizes the importance of administering medical treatment. However, he also observes, “It’s an opportunity to have a reset in life’s values and realize how fortunate we are.” 

He strongly believes that everyone should have the chance to do mission work. “The highlight of my mission trips has been to see first-timers experience the work and witness the compassion and selflessness for those less fortunate.”

Family Life

Dr. Mazziotta and his wife, Danielle, have been married for almost 29 years. They met while working at the zoo education center at Busch Gardens during undergraduate school at USF. They reconnected when Dr. Mazziotta was in medical school and Danielle was in nursing school at USF, and the rest is history. They are proud parents to three children, Jake, McKenzie and Ellie. Impressively, Danielle and each of their children have accompanied Dr. Mazziotta on at least one of his medical mission trips.

In those rare moments when Dr. Mazziotta is not caring for patients, teaching medical students or residents, attending committee meetings or assisting in international medicine, he enjoys spending time with his family and “building things”. His most recent accomplishment was building a cabin from the ground up. The cabin is located on “Island 23” on Lake Iamonia in northern Leon County. On Saturdays, he would load his boat with supplies and launch from the Bull Headley boat ramp and head to the island for a full day’s work. This weekend-only project took seven years to complete, but it quickly became his favorite place to relax, unwind, and recharge.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and the Capital Medical Society congratulate Dr. Joseph Mazziotta. He exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding leader and physician.

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Article provided courtesy of Capital Medical Society