Our specialists:
Pediatric cardiologists
Congenital heart surgeons
Pediatric intensivists
Pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists
Neonatologists
Nurses and support staff
Perfusionists
Return to Specialists page
Nursing and support staff:
Brenda Cabaza, RN, BSN
Pediatric Nurse Coordinator
Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
Phone: 210-562-5378 | Email
Brenda Cabaza obtained her BSN in nursing at
UTHSCSA and a BA in Sociology from UT Austin. Her background has been in
Critical Care Nursing, and Cardiology. For the last 13 years she has
worked with the Thoracic Surgery Department at UTHSCSA as the
coordinator for the both the adult and children's heart surgery program.
She now directs her efforts specifically with children at the Congenital
Heart Institute at Christus Santa Rosa.
Beverly Cross, BSN
Coordinator, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Phone: 210-704-2965 | Email
Beverly earned her BSN at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Nursing
in 1993. She has been a PICU nurse since
1996, and has been taking care of heart patients since 1997. When the children's heart
program moved to Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, she became the Cardiac
Clinical Coordinator. Her job as coordinator allows her to have a lot of interaction with the
parents and patients. The patient population is one that sometimes
allows the nursing staff to see their patients grow from newborn babies into young,
wonderful people with awesome personalities. Getting a card, picture,
or even a visit from one of the little ones is the most
rewarding "payday" ever.
Beverly is a part of this program because she loves the staff, doctors and most
of all the patients.
Kara Goodspeed, RNC-FNP
Professional Nurse Practitioner
Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
Phone: 210-562-5378 | Email
Kara Goodspeed, RNC-FNP, was born and raised in Texas. She moved to Mississippi
in 1987 to pursue an education in nursing, where she earned a BS in Nursing in 1990.
Kara worked in the adult Cardiac/Telemetry areas until 1994, when she transferred to
the NICU setting. In May 2007, she obtained her MS in Nursing with a Family Nurse Practitioner
major, and successfully completed the National Certification Examin July 2007. She has
experience as an ECMO nurse, transport nurse, and is herself the mom of a micro-preemie.
Michelle Guajardo, RN
Phone: 210-562-5378
Michelle Guajardo earned her BSN in Nursing from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of
Nursing in 2001, and has been working with the Congenital Heart Program since graduation. She began her nursing
career in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Univeristy Hospital, and fell in love with taking care
of the post-operative pediatric heart patients in the unit. This has become her passion - post-op care of the
pediatric heart patients, as well as their families.
Pedro Medina, Jr., RN
Phone: 210-562-5378 | Email
