Julie began her healthcare career in 1992 as a registered nurse. She has twelve years experience with both Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and the National Institutes of Health where she served as a Staff RN in general surgery, cardiac services and the intensive care and adult critical care units. Julie obtained her certification as a registered nurse practitioner from the University of Maryland, School of Nursing in 2003 and began practicing at Washington Adventist Hospital within their hospitalist program. In April 2006, she returned to Shady Grove Adventist Hospital to become the Surgical House Office, where she played a key role in educating the nursing staff on appropriate care and management of acute surgical patients. In 2008, Julie moved to Frederick Memorial Hospital to become the sole nurse practitioner of the hospital’s 19-bed intensive care unit. Julie joined Horizon Surgical Group in 2009, but remained in the hospital setting, providing consultations and follow-up to patient surgeries performed in the hospital by Horizon’s surgical team. In her personal time, Julie enjoys spending time with her two cocker spaniels.
Jennifer received her Master of Science degree as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from University of Maryland in 2013. She joined Horizon Vascular Specialists in 2019 with over 10 years of cardiovascular nursing experience. Jennifer started her nursing career as a graduate nurse in the Surgical Intensive Care step-down unit at Medstar Washington Hospital Center in 2009. She continued with critical care nurse training while traveling in Honolulu. She returned to DC and worked as a vascular surgery nurse practitioner at Washington Hospital Center before taking her next assignment in Washington State. In Washington, Jennifer worked in cardiology at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma. She made her way back home to Maryland in 2019, where she started with Horizon Vascular Specialists.
Jennifer is committed to providing excellent patient care and the best experience possible. She enjoys educating her patients regarding their diagnosis, medications and treatment. Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and cooking.
Jacqueline Hoover, PA
Jacqueline is a Maryland native. She completed her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in Psychology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She is driven by her passion for clinical work. Prior to the start of her professional career, she completed an internship working with children with autism in the neuropsychology program at Children’s National in Washington, DC. She received her Masters of Medical Science from Saint Francis University while completing her certificate of Physician Assistant studies at Anne Arundel Community College. She graduated with honors in the top 5% of her PA class. She joined Horizon in 2020 with over 10 years of experience in several subspecialties of medicine. She started her career at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital working with Johns Hopkins Orthopaedics. She worked alongside a fellowship trained Foot and Ankle Orthopaedic surgeon to treat patient in the office setting and spent over 6 years first assisting in the operating room. She also worked per diem in the urgent care center of the Emergency Department during that time. She followed her orthopaedic experience with two and a half years in Cardiology at MedStar Union Memorial hospital. During this time she worked closely with physicians of several subspecialties, including heart failure, structural heart disease, electrophysiology, and sports cardiology. She performed exercise and pharmacologic cardiovascular stress testing. In addition, she consulted patients both in the critical care unit of the hospital as well as carried an outpatient patient base. Jacqueline enjoys the balance between the office and hospital settings to allow continuity of care for her patients. She values communication with her patients to encourage preventative medicine practices.
It is evident in her care for patients that kind and compassionate bedside manner is very important to her style of practice. She is an eager clinician who continues to develop her professional knowledge with reading current literature and attending conferences nationwide. She strongly believes in the benefit of practicing guideline directed medical therapy. She is a member of the Maryland Academy of Physician Assistants and the American College of Cardiology. She is married to her husband Eric, and they have two beautiful children, Evan and Madison. In their free time they enjoy taking trips to visit in-laws in Pennsylvania. They often spend weekends with family and friends locally. She values the little joys in life.
Sophie Shpritz, PA
Sophie is originally from northern New Jersey. She earned her Bachelors of Science at TCNJ in International Business with a minor in French. Her medical training was completed at The Weill Cornell Graduate School, one of two primary surgical PA programs in the country, where she earned her Master of Science in Health Sciences for Physician Assistants in 2013. Upon graduating, she moved to Maryland for a fellowship in Emergency Medicine, then worked for the next 7 years in an Emergency Department. This role provided the opportunity to care for patients with a large variety of medical conditions prior to specializing. She proudly joined Horizon Vascular Specialists in 2020. She appreciates the continuity of care between the hospital and office setting, and following patients she has seen in the hospital. Sophie enjoys speaking with her patients, educating them, and providing exceptional care. Sophie has recently been accepted into the Physician Assistant section of the Society for Vascular Surgeons and hopes to continue to grow in this field of medicine. In her free time, Sophie likes to spend time with her husband, two kids, and French Bulldog.