“My outlook on care is to treat each of my patients as though they are part of my family. I feel proud when they are doing their very best, and I worry as a parent would when they are at their worst. I seek to create trusting relationships with my patients and their families. Everyone is a VIP, in my opinion.”

Mendoza is a board-certified pediatric primary care nurse practitioner specializing in pulmonary medicine. She has clinical interests in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, patients with tracheostomy who may or may not require mechanical ventilation, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (a chronic lung disease diagnosed in newborns), and neuromuscular disorders.

She is the chief advanced practice provider (APP) for pediatric specialties at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital. This includes the fields of pulmonary medicine, gastroenterology, nephrology, palliative care, genetics, infectious disease, pediatric research, rheumatology and the Healthy Futures Program. She is also one of the APPs for pediatric pulmonology with Levine Children’s.

Mendoza has worked in pediatrics for over 20 years in many capacities, including bedside nurse in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, ED/trauma nurse and flight nurse transporting the most critical patients across the country and from the surrounding islands of Florida. Prior to working in pulmonology, she was a general pediatric practitioner in Miami. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

She received her master’s degree at Florida International University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) at Duke University.

She is married with 4 handsome boys that keep her and her husband very active. They love spending time outdoors and traveling. She also enjoys Crossfit, reading and new challenges.