UCHealth has named University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine neurosurgeon John Berry-Candelario, MD, its new director of spine services. 

In this role, Berry-Candelario, visiting associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, will oversee spine services at UCHealth, CU Anschutz, and partners across the Denver metro region, from Boulder to Highlands Ranch. 

“Our goal is to unite our teams across the health system around a shared mission and a clear strategy for growth,” he says. “We’re building a spine program that sets a national standard for clinical care, research, and education.”

Berry-Candelario also serves as the director of spine oncology and director of spine metastasis at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine. A lifelong interest in medicine and a commitment to service has centered the neurosurgeon’s focus on building a future for the spine program that is rooted in quality, safety, and patient satisfaction. 

A focus on multidisciplinary expertise

A main goal for Berry-Candelario is to integrate services in a way that benefits patients and providers alike. Securing an appointment with a spine specialist can often take weeks or months. This can fragment care, diminish the patient experience, and create challenges for the care team. 

In response, Berry-Candelario and his team have started integrating workflows through the referral process, getting patients to the proper provider quickly based on their clinical presentation through referral lines. These access models allow urgent patients to get their appointment within 48 hours, and sometimes even on the same day. From there, patients are treated by a multidisciplinary team that includes neurosurgery, physiatry, and orthopedics, providing them a continuum of care that meets all their needs.

“My role is to unleash and empower the substantial number of experts that we have at every level,” says Berry-Candelario. 

This means that patients can expect a smooth, coordinated experience from the time they first see a provider, to the operating room, and through post-operative recovery. 

“Here at UCHealth and the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, we want to make sure that our patients know that they are going to get the highest quality standard of spine care,” he says. “The medical issues bringing them to us are a challenging and disruptive part of their lives. But we are their care team and we're going to make sure they have the best journey that they possibly can.”

Berry-Candelario’s implementations are expected to also positively impact in-system metrics such as readmission rates, length of stay, surgical site infections, and time to diagnosis. 

Leading by serving

Among the many roles Berry-Candelario has served throughout his career, being a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves Medical Corps for more than a decade may be among the most pivotal.

“There are people out there who are devoting themselves for country, for something greater than themselves,” says Berry-Candelario, who also has a long family history of military service. “As a medical provider, my job is to make sure that they're ready for that fight, both abroad and when they get home. They deserve the very best.”

Berry-Candelario joined the Navy Reserve program after beginning his medical career and caring for a veteran during his internship. The experience inspired him to look at the many meaningful ways he could implement his medical training. 

In addition to his dedication to his fellow veterans, he also lends his focus to supporting those preparing to enter the medical field. Surgeons, physiatrists, pain doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants all play crucial roles in providing the best care for patients of the spine program.

“We have an educational responsibility to train the next generation of spine experts. With our integration with the School of Medicine, our fellowship programs, residency programs, and our alliance with our School of Nursing and Program of Physician Assistants, we're able to really create a program that works across multiple pillars,” Berry-Candelario says.