Chief, Memorial Division of Infectious Disease

I am an infectious disease specialist and chief of Memorial Division of Infectious Disease at Memorial Healthcare System, and the medical director of Memorial’s Infection Control Program. I specialize in caring for patients with various types on infections including HIV, and Hepatitis B and C.

In our division at Memorial, we work as a cohesive team. Our physicians, nurses, medical assistants and office staff all share one goal: to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to our patients. We provide inpatient and outpatient services, and want everyone to feel comfortable and at home when they visit our offices.

Working with patients is my favorite part of the job. It’s really gratifying to work with someone who is very sick, and help them recover and get back to doing the things they love.

I am also the medical director of Memorial Healthcare System’s Ryan White Clinic, which provides services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Our multidisciplinary team works with patients to ensure they have access to medications, mental health services, case management services as well as medical care. I was honored to receive The Louis Curbelo Leadership Award in 2017 from Latinos en Accion of Broward County for my work with patients with HIV/AIDS.

In addition to working with patients, I also enjoy teaching. Since 2011, I have served as a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Florida International University’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. 

Related Medical Services

• Infectious Disease

Hospital Affiliations

• Memorial Hospital Miramar
• Memorial Hospital Pembroke
• Memorial Hospital West
• Memorial Regional Hospital

Gender

• Female

Languages

• Spanish

Education

Universidad Del Norte, 1997

Internships

University of Miami - Jackson Memorial Hospital - Internal Medicine Prog, 2000, Internal Medicine

Residency

University of Miami - Jackson Memorial Hospital - Internal Medicine Prog, 2002, Internal Medicine

Fellowships

University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine, 2004, Infectious Disease

Certifications

American Board of Internal Medicine-Infectious Disease
American Board of Internal Medicine-Internal Medicine

Publications

• View Dr. Paula Eckardt's publications on PubMed

Research

• Prevalence of Dengue fever in Barranquilla, Colombia, 1996
• Resistance of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae to penicillin in patients at the Seguro Social, Barranquilla, Colombia

Professional Organizations

• Infectious Diseases Society of America
• American College of Physicians
• HIV Medical Association
• American Academy of HIV Medicine
• International Society of Infectious Diseases

Presentations

Abstracts

• Sherman E, Elrod S, Eckardt P. Baseline transmitted V106V/I/M non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance in HIV-1 subtype B infection. BMJ Case Rep. 2012 Dec 10. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2012-007297
• Baracco GJ, Eckardt P, Al-Musawi T, Cleary T, Campo R. Factors Influencing the selection of antifungal therapy for patients with candidemia in the absence of antifungal susceptibility data. Focus on Fungal Infections 15. Miami Beach, FL, March 2005, #25a
• Santos E, Baldarrago G, Espinoza L, Chaparro A, Eckardt P, Raez LE. Primary Hodgkin Lymphomas (NHL) Of The Oral Cavity And Sinus In Patients WithDiagnosis Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection.  Blood Nov 16, 2003, vol 102 (11), Sup 2: 280b (#4843a)
• Santos E, Eckardt P, Raez L, Whitcomb C and Byrne G. Lack of diagnostic utility of bone marrow biopsy in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma presenting as fever of unknown origin (FUO). Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. March 1, 2000; 23(3):59a
• Santos E, Eckardt P, Raez L, Whitcomb C, and Byrne G. The diagnostic usefulness of bone marrow biopsy in the diagnosis of fever of unknown origin (FUO) in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Blood Nov 15, 1999: 94 (10): Sup 1:816a

Poster Presentations

• Sherman E, Elrod S, Eckardt P. Implementation of clinical pharmacist-conducted rapid point-of-care HIV testing. Poster presented at American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Hollywood, Florida, October 2012
• Baracco GJ, Eckardt P, Al-Musawi T, Cleary T, Campo R. Factors Influencing the selection of antifungal therapy for patients with candidemia in the absence of antifungal susceptibility data. Focus on Fungal Infections 15. Miami Beach, FL, March 2005
• Santos E, Eckardt P, Neff G, Raez L. Primary Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (NHL) of the Liver. American College of Physicians (ACP) Annual Meeting. Atlanta, March 2001
• Santos E, Eckardt P, Raez L, Whitcomb C and Byrne G. Lack of diagnostic utility of bone marrow biopsy in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma presenting as fever of unknown origin (FUO). Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. March 1, 2000 23(3):59a. The Fourth International AIDS Malignancy Conference. Bethesda, Maryland May 2000
• E.Santos, Eckardt P, Raez L, Whitcomb C, and Byrne G. The diagnostic usefulness of bone marrow biopsy in the diagnosis of fever of unknown origin (FUO) inpatients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, New Orleans Dec 1999

Awards

• Ranked first in medical school graduating class of 1997, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla,
• Colombia
• Third place, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Annual Research Poster Sessions, Miami, Florida, 2001
• Certificate of Merit, poster finalist in the associates’ research competition, American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, 2001
• Chancellor’s Faculty Research and Development Grant, Evaluating the Benefits of Text Message Reminders on HIV Medication Adherence. For excellence in research and scholarship, awarded at Fort Lauderdale May 24, 2011