About us - Our Team - Tacoma Trauma

Meet The Team

Teresa D Bell, MD

Dr Bell received her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX, and completed her general surgery residency and her surgical critical care fellowship with the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. After her training she stayed in Tennessee where she advanced to the rank of Associate Professor of Surgery with the James H. Quillen College of Medicine and also directed the surgical intensive care unit at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Johnson City, TN. Dr Bell has been in Tacoma practicing acute care surgery and critical care since the inception of the Trauma Trust in 2000, and is board certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical care. She has additional special interests in minimally invasive surgery as well as medical acupuncture, and is an avid cyclist, mountaineer, SCUBA diver and sailor.

Veronica Bustillo-Aruca, MD

Dr Bustillo-Aruca graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Puerto Rico and went on to obtain her medical degree from the University of Maryland in Baltimore. She then completed a general surgery residency with the Christiana Care Health System program in Newark, DE which was followed by a surgical critical care fellowship at the Christiana Care Hospital System in Wilmington, DE. Prior to joining the Tacoma Trauma Trust Dr Bustillo-Aruca worked as a trauma and acute care surgeon in Las Vegas, NV.Veronica Bustillo-Aruca, MD

Megan M Cecchini, MD FACS

Dr. Cecchini received her medical degree from West Virginia University School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in General Surgery at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, WA. She became board certified in General Surgery in 2016. She is currently an attending surgeon for the Trauma Trust Acute Care Surgery Service at both Tacoma General Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center. Dr. Cecchini enjoys taking care of patients with acute surgical issues. Her outside interests include traveling, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and supporting local sports teams.

Albert Hsu, MD

Dr. Hsu is board certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He completed his General Surgery residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. During his residency, he also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Subsequently, he completed a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and Trauma at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL. He joins the Trauma Trust from UF Health Jacksonville Division of Acute Care Surgery where he was an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine teaching numerous medical students, residents, and fellows.

Jennifer L Hubbard, MD, FACS

Dr. Hubbard is board certified in Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. She earned her medical degree and completed her General Surgery residency at Loma Linda University. During residency she also finished her Pediatric Surgery Research fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. She then completed her Critical Care fellowship at both the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Dr. Hubbard has offered her services in multiple third world countries as a medical and surgical volunteer. Her interests include Transfusion Medicine, the Complex Abdomen, and Surgical Education. She has experience as an Associate Professor of Surgery teaching medical students, residents, and Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery fellows.

Paul T. Inouye, MD, FACS

Dr. Inouye is board certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Inouye received a B.A. from Pomona College. He then completed a Masters in Public Health at the University of California in Los Angeles at the Division of Epidemiology. He received his medical degree from George Washington University. Dr. Inouye completed his general surgery residency in the Temple University Health System, and then a surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Camden. Dr. Inouye is the Trauma Trust Medical Director.

Vimukta Mahadev, MD

Dr. Mahadev received his medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He then completed his General Surgery residency at the University of Washington followed by his Surgical Critical Care fellowship at Harborview Medical Center. He became Board Certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical care in 2021. In addition to trauma surgery, critical care and acute care surgery, Dr. Mahadev’s clinical interests include rib fixation and robotics. He enjoys teaching and is currently an active ATLS instructor. Since joining the Trauma Trust in 2021, he has been devoted to providing compassionate and evidence-based care with a multidisciplinary approach. He seeks to understand his individual patients’ goals and priorities in order to provide medical care that is aligned with their values. His outside interests include skiing/snowboarding, traveling, cooking and spending quality time with his family.

Jamison S. Nielsen, DO, MBA, FACS

Dr Nielsen obtained his undergraduate degree in zoology from the University of Washington in Seattle. He obtained his medical degree from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and completed his general surgery residency at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i. A Surgical Critical Care fellowship was then obtained at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. Dr Nielsen most recently completed a burn surgery preceptorship at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio, TX. He also obtained an MBA degree from the Rockhurst University Helzberg School of Management in Kansas City, MO. He has distinguished himself with multiple military awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for his military service in the Middle East, to where he has been deployed as a trauma surgeon on multiple occasions. Dr. Nielsen is the Associate Trauma Medical Director for St. Joseph Medical Center

Constantine G. Saites, MD, FACS

Dr. Saites is board certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Saites was raised in Milwaukee, WI and completed his undergraduate education at St. Norbert College. He then completed a Masters in Physiology at Georgetown University. Dr. Saites graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2008 where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and recipient of the Lillienfeld Award in Physiology. Dr. Saites was a categorical General Surgery resident at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN, and completed his Surgical Critical Care fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital in 2012. He completed his residency training at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan from 2015-2017. Dr. Saites is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association, The Henry Ford Medical Group Alumni Association, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the Chest Wall Injury Society. Dr. Saites’ interests include chest wall reconstruction and rib fixation for traumatic rib fractures, intercostal nerve cryoablation, surgical physiology, and teaching. He is published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Saites’ family resides in Seattle, WA, and he is an active member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Tacoma.

Long D. Tran, MD, FACS

Dr. Tran received his medical degree from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He completed his Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Connecticut Hartford Hospital. Dr. Tran is Board Certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care and is an attending physician on the Trauma and Acute Care Surgery services.