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The Partners Who Create The Rizzi Difference

Bible with stethoscope

About Our Partnership

Gabriel Rizzi, MD and Terese Rizzi, APRN began seeing patients in Southwest Florida in 2006. They bring with them a wealth of knowledge and a desire to share their combined skills and mission to serve with the team they lead.

Meet The Partners

Terese Rizzi, APRN

Terese Rizzi, APRN

Consultant, Emeritus

Terese began her career at Stockton State University creating the nursing school’s psychiatric mental health nursing program. Terese has provided psychiatric care for over 40 years. Her understanding of the aging population allows her to guide and lead the team at Rizzi Psychiatric Associates in providing treatment and services focusing on the unique needs of older adults. 

Terese’s vast knowledge and experience enables her and the team to provide comprehensive psychopharmacological evaluations.  She has seen that quality of life improves dramatically when psychiatric intervention is made early in the caring process. Her main goal and focus is to maximize function and improve quality of life for each patient she and her team has the honor to care for.

Terese Rizzi is board certified and received her Baccalaureate in nursing from  Boston University and her Masters in Psychiatric Mental Health nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. After concluding her Master’s Degree, Terese completed a year of internship in the prestigious University of Pennsylvania program of “Structural Family Therapy”,  founded by one of psychiatry’s giants,  Dr. Salvador Minuchin.  Following two years at Stockton State College in which she set up their baccalaureate program in psychiatric nursing, Terese spent twenty years providing private psychotherapy to families and individuals.  For the three years prior to coming to Florida, she was the advanced practice nurse for psychiatric mental health for a 1000 resident continuum of care community in New Jersey.

Terese spent almost twenty years providing expert care to residents in Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Facilities throughout Lee and Collier counties, and she is well known and ultimately respected in her field.  With Terese’s guidance, the providers at Rizzi Mental Health Associates practice the APA’s Collaborative Care Model, which means that Terese consults and mentors our Mental Health providers.​​​

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Email: Terese@TheRizziDifference.com

Gabriel Rizzi, MD

Gabriel Rizzi, MD

Consultant, Emeritus

Dr. Gabriel Rizzi is a board-certified, general and vascular surgeon trained in New York City in the Columbia program. He was an instructor in surgery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons and practiced at the Medical Center of Ocean County in New Jersey, where he held positions as Chief of Surgery and Chief of Vascular Surgery and was a member on the board of the hospital.

 

In addition to a thriving practice, he held chair positions in every committee in the hospital. Dr. Rizzi began practicing in assisted living facilities in Southwest Florida in 2006 and continues to be committed to their care.

 

Over the last three decades, Dr. Rizzi has been on medical mission trips throughout South and Central America, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean bringing medical supplies and care to those in need.

            COO              

Nelson Fernandez Headshot.jpg

Nelson Fernandez, HCMBA

Chief Operating Officer

Nelson Fernandez serves as Chief Operating Officer of The Rizzi Group and brings more than 20 years of operational and leadership experience, including more than a decade leading healthcare operations across primary care, population health, dialysis, and home-based care.

 

Throughout his career, Nelson has focused on building strong teams, improving the patient and provider experience, and developing operational systems that allow healthcare organizations to grow while maintaining a high standard of care.

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Nelson’s healthcare experience includes leading multi-site operations across traditional fee-for-service environments, full-risk value-based care, and other alternative payment models. He has overseen operations supporting primary care, complex and senior-focused care, population health, dialysis, and home-based services. His work has included developing healthcare leaders, improving clinical and financial performance, strengthening quality and patient experience, and helping organizations successfully navigate periods of significant growth and change.

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At The Rizzi Group, Nelson oversees operational strategy and day-to-day execution as the organization continues to expand its services and clinical footprint. His focus includes supporting providers, strengthening organizational infrastructure, advancing compliance, improving operational consistency, and building the systems necessary to support continued growth. He believes strong healthcare operations should ultimately make it easier for clinicians to care for patients and for teams to provide an exceptional experience to the people they serve.

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Nelson earned his MBA with a concentration in Healthcare from Florida International University and is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

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Email: Nelson@TheRizziDifference.com

MISSION STATEMENT AND CORE VALUES

Our mission is to excel at the delivery of healthcare to our community. In order to accomplish our mission, we have adopted a set of core values which guide us in the decisions we make. ​

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Our Core Val​ues:

Respect

We affirm the rights, dignity, individuality, and worth of each person we care for, and of each other. 

Integrity

We honor the commitments we make, believe in fairness and honesty, and are guided by our ethics. 

Care

We compassionately care for the whole person: physical, emotional, social, and spiritual, and value and respect all of the resources entrusted to us.

 

Excellence

We strive for excellence and are committed to providing the best care and service possible.

Telephone 732-778-7641

Fax Rizzi Mental Health Team: 239-310-2036

Mailing Address:

936 Barcarmil Way, Naples, Florida 34110

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Fax Rizzi Primary Care Team: 239-310-2035

© 2026 by The Rizzi Difference

The Rizzi Group hires Independent Contractors.

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