Dr. Sam is truly an elite doctor

Dr. Sam is truly an elite doctor

By  Marie Carrie Email: mcarrie305@gmail.com

“She has a spirit that people gravitate to,” according to Krystal Eubanks, the obstetrical care coordinator at Elite ObGyn. Krystal has worked with Dr. Lanalee Araba Sam since 2003. Dr. Sam is a gifted and much sought after physician in the Fort Lauderdale area. She founded Elite ObGyn with the express purpose of creating a boutique style medical practice designed to cater to the individual needs of expectant mothers and women of all ages.

“For me, attention to details makes all the difference. From creating a warm office environment, to just spending a little extra time listening to the women who have trusted me with their bodies. As far as I’m concerned that’s the kind of VIP treatment all of my patients deserve,” says Dr. Sam.

From a young age, Lanalee knew she was going to be a doctor. As a second generation physician, the choice was clear. However the decision to specialize in women’s health wasn’t so clear.

As the daughter of a fellow ObGyn, Dr. Sam was all too familiar with the unpredictability that plagues the life of a “baby doctor.” In fact one of her childhood memories involves a 12 year old birthday celebration that was thwarted by the arrival of a new life.

“We were supposed to go to brunch and my Dad had to go to the hospital. So we ended up going through the drive-thru at KFC. Not too cool,” says Lanalee. And this was just one of many occasions whereby her life was disrupted because of her Dad’s profession.

However it was during her third year of medical school when she did her first delivery that she finally understood and succumbed to the same passion that drove her father.

“I called my Dad and said ‘This is the coolest thing ever. Why didn’t you ever tell me how awesome it is to be an ObGyn.” It has been over 17 years since that moment and still she gushes, “I get to be a part of the most amazing moment in anyone’s life.”

In addition to delivering babies, Dr. Sam specializes in robotic assisted laparoscopic  surgery. “I get to fix people. I get to cure definitively what’s wrong with somebody.” She is not only the Director of Gynecologic Robotic Surgery at West Boca Medical Center, she is the first doctor to perform a robotic total laparoscopic hysterectomy in Palm Beach County in 2007 and has since performed hundreds of such complicated procedures.

While delivering babies and performing surgeries would seem to fill all of Dr. Sam’s time, she somehow still managed to create the Elite Women’s Foundation, a non-profit organization with an unusual beginning.

On her 40th birthday, Dr. Sam held a big celebration whereby guests were asked to make a donation to the American Heart Association in lieu of gifts. Feeling exceedingly blessed at this point in her life she wanted to do something for a cause she felt passionate about.

The following year, she was encouraged to create her foundation and continue the tradition of a yearly gala focused on raising funds and awareness for organizations that meet the needs of women.

“My whole premise behind the Elite Women’s Foundation and the events was to draw at-tention to women that you don’t think are victims of emotional and physical abuse. Parti-cularly the women that no one is crying tears over.” Surprisingly one of these women was once Dr. Sam.

“The 2009 party was celebrating one year of having left my ex-husband who was extremely toxic.”

Having survived an emotionally abusive marriage her-self and witnessed the effects of abuse on numerous women, Dr. Sam has ensured that the Elite Women’s Foundation is a consistent supporter of Women in Distress of Broward County, Inc. an organization dedicated to helping abused women get the help they need.

Expanding her repertoire and broadening her commitment, Dr. Sam accepted the position of Director of Women’s Transformational Health at Florida Medical Center Hospital last fall.

She is extremely excited about this position because Florida Medical Center is currently undergoing radical changes under the leadership of their new CEO, Ms. Gabrielle Finley Hazle.         “She came and personally recruited me to help transform that hospital. It’s small enough that we can make a difference.”

Dr. Sam will spearhead a newly created department focused on the transformational health of women.

According to Dr. Sam, “transformational health is a 360 degree view of women that’s not just their physical but their mental, their family, their emotional, their environment, their job. The physical is only one small piece.”

Despite her accomplishments and success, Dr. Lanalee Sam remains humble. “I am never envious of anybody and I don’t want anybody to ever envy me. Instead, I endeavor daily to be inspiring and be inspired”

Learn more about Dr. Sam and Elite ObGyn at http://eliteobgyn.com/ or contact the office (954) 776-4877.