Our Physicians
John Carlson, M.D.
Dr. Carlson’s practice office is located next door to SEC, at 1083 Los Palos Drive. His practice website is www.salinasgi.com.
Dr. John Carlson was raised in Southern California. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played collegiate water polo and majored in microbiology. He attended medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating in 1978, and subsequently completed his Internal Medicine internship, also at UCLA, in 1981. He completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology at UCSF in 1985. After moving to Salinas in 1985, Dr. Carlson chaired the medical department at SVMH from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2014 to 2016. He is a member of the ACP, AGA, ASGE, AMA, and MCMS.
Dr. Carlson lives in Salinas with his wife and enjoys visiting his children in the Bay Area on weekends.
Prathibha Chandra, M.D.
Dr. Chandra’s practice office is located at 601 E. Romie Lane, Suite C, Salinas, CA.
Dr. Prathibha Chandrasekaran (she prefers to go by the shortened name, Dr. Chandra) completed her medical training at Bangalore University in her native India, where she was one of the first female graduates in gastroenterology. She completed her fellowship and residency at the State University of New York. She completed her board certification in 2002 in both gastroenterology and internal medicine. She was in private practice in Edison, N.J. for more than fifteen years before relocating to California.
Dr. Chandra lives in Gilroy and enjoys traveling in her free time. She recently returned from a trip to visit the pyramids of Egypt and loves to discuss new places.
Lillian Choi, M.D.
Dr. Choi’s practice office is located next door to SEC, at 1083 Los Palos Drive. Her practice website is www.salinasgi.com.
Dr. Choi is a native of the Bay Area, growing up in Castro Valley, Calif. She attended UC Davis as an undergraduate and went to University of Colorado for medical school. Thereafter, she completed her residency and internship at UC Irvine. Lastly, she completed a specialty fellowship in gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Choi lives in Salinas and enjoys spending time with her extended family throughout the Bay Area.
Dr. Waloff’s practice office is located next door to SEC, at 1083 Los Palos Drive. His practice website is www.salinasgi.com.
Dr. Ron Waloff is a native of Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College. He then graduated with honors from Temple University School of Medicine and subsequently completed his internship and residency at Temple University Hospital, where he was Chief Resident. He completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology at Yale University. He is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. He was in private practice in Pennsylvania for more than 25 years before relocating to be near his son’s family in the Bay Area.
Dr. Waloff lives in Santa Cruz with his wife and enjoys being a grandfather.
Our Anesthesia Team
Andrew Palmer, CRNA
Andrew Palmer received his undergraduate degree in Nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University in 1984. He received his Masters degree in Nurse Anesthesiology from UCLA in 1991. His research was published in the medical journal Nurse Anesthesiology three times in 1992. He spent the majority of his private practice in Big Bear, Calif. where he was the Surgical Services Director at Bear Valley Community Hospital.
Andy moved to Salinas in 2016 and serves as the lead anesthetist at Salinas Endoscopy Center. When he is not working, he enjoys several action sports and is a private pilot. He is also a member of Rotary International.
Michael Hopkins, CRNA
Michael Hopkins received his undergraduate degree in Nursing at the University of South Alabama. He received his Masters degree in Nurse Anesthesiology from the University of Alabama in 2012. Mr. Hopkins served the country in the US Navy for 12 years, where he provided acute care to soldiers and sailors. He is also on staff at Natividad Medical Center.
Michael has lived on the central coast since 2008 and enjoys traveling to the Caribbean whenever he has the chance.
Diane Washington, CRNA
Diane Washington received her undergraduate degree in Nursing from St. Xavier College in Illinois. She completed her Masters degree in Nurse Anesthesiology at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She worked at the famous Cook County Hospital in Chicago (where “ER” was set) before moving to California in 1993, where she worked at Kaiser Permanente for more than 20 years. Diane joined the staff of Salinas Endoscopy Center in 2016
Diane lives in San Jose and loves to spend time with her family when she’s away from the surgery center.
Daniel Loh, CRNA
Daniel Loh received both his undergraduate degree in Nursing and his Masters degree in Nurse Anesthesiology from the University of Alabama. He moved to California right after school and worked at Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City from 1984 to 2011. He was the primary CRNA at a San Jose eye surgery center before joining the staff at Salinas Endoscopy Center in 2016.
Danny lives in San Jose and enjoys travel in his free time.