Valant Anesthesia Services is a group of board certified anesthesiologists and CRNA’s. Our balanced care team model delivers safe and efficient anesthesia services while our practice specializes in ultrasound guided regional anesthesia and multi modal post operative pain management. The mission of Valant Anesthesia Services is to provide an exceptional level of anesthetic perioperative leadership, efficiency, safety, and surgeon satisfaction. We proudly utilize a holistic approach to maintain complete patient satisfaction.

Dr. Gregory Francis, D.O. is a board certified practicing anesthesiologist and the President of Valant Anesthesia Services on the Treasure Coast of Florida. Dr. Francis has over 10 years of clinical anesthesia experience with expertise in ultrasound guided regional anesthesia.

In 1999, Dr. Francis received his Bachelor of Science Degree Chemistry from Truman State University, Kirksville, MO. From there, Dr. Francis attended the Chemistry PhD program at University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS which he left early to attend medical school. He completed medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Bio-Sciences in Kansas City, Missouri and become a DO.

After a year of internship training at St. Joseph’s hospital in Philadelphia, PA., Dr. Francis attended Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center as an anesthesia resident where he had excellent exposure to critical care, trauma, pediatrics, regional, pain management, obstetrics, cardiothoracic and neurosurgical anesthesia. During this time, he participated in structured academic curriculum at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center.

Doctor Francis also initiated a sponsored medical trip to Honduras for the residents.

In 2009, Dr. Francis returned to Florida, where he became a partner with St. Lucie Anesthesia Associates covering St. Lucie Medical Center, St. Lucie Surgery Center, Surgery Center of Ft. Pierce and Indian River Surgery Center while partnering up with Dr. Poto. He quickly became recognized for his specialized ultrasound guided regional anesthesia techniques.

In 2017, Dr. Francis joined with Dr. Antonio Poto to form Valant Anesthesia Services. This group was created with passion to provide quality anesthesia embracing safety, multi modal pain control, and individualized patient experience.

Dr. Francis specializes in ultrasound guided regional anesthesia and pain management utilizing the latest local nerve blocks for post-surgical pain control and recovery.

Doctor Antonio Poto, D.O. is a board certified practicing anesthesiologist and Vice President of Valant Anesthesia Services. Doctor Poto also operates a private practice, Pioneer Pain Management.

He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree, magna cum laude from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in 1994. The following two years he spent most of his time doing missions in Mexico helping impoverished people in medical need and shadowing local physicians.

In 2004, Dr. Poto graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Stratford, New Jersey. During this time, he dedicated his time helping to provide medical care to the indigent population in Southern New Jersey. After a year of internship training in New York at Lutheran Medical Center, in Brooklyn, Dr. Poto attended Hahnemann University Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as an anesthesia resident.

While at Hahnemann University Medical Center, his fellow residents and attending physicians elected him to become Chief Resident during the 2007‐2008 year, an honor bestowed upon him due to his exceptional clinical and leadership skills. It was during his time at Hahnemann University Medical Center that Dr. Poto had the luxury of working with some of the world’s leaders in pain management therapies.

In 2009, Dr. Poto partnered with St. Lucie Anesthesia associates where he quickly developed his clinical expertise as a pain management specialist. He also worked at multiple surgery centers in the surrounding area, helping deliver safe and efficient anesthetic care in the outpatient setting. Dr. Poto is bilingual in Spanish and English.

In 2015, Dr. Poto began operating a private practice, Pioneer Pain Management. He has developed an excellent reputation both locally and on the East Coast of the United States for his knowledge, sympathy and kindness in treating patients suffering from chronic pain.

Dr. Poto’s passion for continuous improvement in anesthesia and pain control inspired him to partner with Dr. Francis in 2017. He is thrilled to create a group that embraces every aspect of what quality medicine and anesthesia should be.

Colleen McCreary is the Chief Practicing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at Valant Anesthesia Services.

Colleen completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing at Salisbury State University in Salisbury, MD and was quickly enrolled in an intensive Operating Room internship at John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. After working in the operating room and ICU for over 10 years, Colleen continued with her nursing education at the University of Maryland in Baltimore where she completed her Master of Science in nursing specializing in anesthesia.

In 2010, Colleen relocated to the Treasure Coast and joined St. Lucie Anesthesia Associates where she became practice partners to Dr. Poto and Dr. Francis. Here, she provided full time clinical anesthesia care at St. Lucie Medical Center and several ambulatory surgical centers. In 2015, Colleen was elected Chief CRNA of her team. She served as liaison between allied heath, chief anesthesiologist, surgeons, and the company. Additionally, she maintained continuous quality improvement, risk management programs, and improved the efficiency of operating room workflow.