Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elizabeth Cruz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Elizabeth, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Right after I started my own practice I came to my wife and business partner, Tina Nunziato and expressed my concern about how I was running all kinds of tests on patients and wasn’t finding the cause of their issues. I was putting them on tons of medicines only for them to continue to get sicker not healthier and I was seeing younger and younger patients in my office with digestive issues that I was used to seeing in older people. I wanted answers and was tired of telling patients I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with them. She and I took a risk and went on a two-year journey to learn about things my medical degree didn’t teach me. We’ve turned that learning into a podcast, online home study program, 3 books, and a line of private label supplements that are helping patients get better and get off of prescription and over the counter medicines. This was a huge risk for me in my practice because I didn’t want to seem like a quack or someone who didn’t’ take my medical license seriously. My patients’ well-being was more important than my reputation. I found that the more my colleagues learned about what I was doing the more supportive they were. I’ve been helping my patients from a traditional and holistic standpoint for over a decade now with great success.

Elizabeth, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Dr. Cruz Bio:

Dr. Cruz graduated from college in 1988 with a B.S. in Medical Technology. Prior to Medical School, she taught English for one year in Bangkok Thailand. In 1989, Dr. Cruz began her formal career in medicine by attending Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California. During medical school, Dr. Cruz was part of a student/staff physician team, which provided relief work to the natives along the Amazon River. She graduated from medical school in 1993 and then went on to do her Internal Medicine Internship under the auspices of the U.S. Navy at the Naval Hospital, Oakland, California.

Upon the closure of the Naval Hospital in Oakland, Dr. Cruz transferred and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1996, she was deployed to Guam to fulfill her commitment to the U.S. Navy. While in Guam, she served as a Staff Internist at the U.S. Naval Hospital. During her active duty years in the Navy, she received the Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal as well as the Humanitarian Service Medal and the National Defense Medal for service during Operation Desert Storm. During her last two years in Guam, she was the Head of the Internal Medicine Division at the U.S. Naval Hospital.

In 2000, she went back to the University of California, San Francisco where she completed her training in Gastroenterology (GI). In 2004, Dr. Cruz moved to Arizona to join the Arizona Medical Clinic in Peoria. For two and a half years she served as a full-time gastroenterologist in both the outpatient and inpatient settings doing the full range of general gastroenterology including endoscopic procedures as well as hepatology. In January 2007, Dr. Cruz joined Estrella Gastroenterology in Goodyear, Arizona. In January 2008, she opened the doors to her own practice, Dr. Liz Cruz Partners in Digestive Health.

Dr. Cruz was born in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in Orlando, Florida. She speaks fluent Spanish and enjoys her family, traveling, jazz music, and photography.

Dr. Cruz is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Gastroenterology. She is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

How Dr. Cruz got into medicine:

Dr. Cruz always knew she wanted to be a doctor from the time she was little. She loved helping people.

Type of products / services Dr. Cruz offers:

She has created a medical practice with a trusted bi-lingual Gastroenterology team, addressing digestive issues with a thorough conventional work-up & a natural healing approach

Services Offered – GI Consults, Colonoscopy, Upper Endoscopy, Capsule Endoscopy, Non-Surgical Hemorrhoid Treatment, H-Pylori Tests, Wellness Consults, B-12 Injections
Our Mission – To provide exceptional medical care and customer service to our patients, wellness clients and the many family members & friends they send our way.
Our Goal – To create an amazing experience you won’t find anywhere else; giving you access to knowledge, products, services and support to heal digestive issues naturally.
Our Team – Is able to meet the needs of the English and Spanish speaking communities and will stop at nothing to get you well.
We strive to bring personal care and prevention back into medicine and we look forward to working with you to better your digestive health!

Problems we solve:
Give patients a more natural / holistic alternative to their digestive problems. Offer lots of resources to learn so patients can make better decisions for themselves and offer medical grade supplements to help patients get off of over the counter and prescription medications.

What Dr. Cruz is most proud of:
Not giving up on finding the answer to help patients solve their digestive issues. The guidance and support her team offers clients and patients. Also very proud of being a woman owned, Latina owned, veteran owned and LGBT owned business.

What she wants people to know:
You don’t have to be a patient of ours to benefit from the wellness side of what we do.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Over the last 12 years that we have been offering the wellness program we have had a lot of ups and downs. Things that worked, things that didn’t work. So many times we wanted to give up, but we never did…we continue to move forward, change things up until we found the set of products and services that work best for people.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Yes, I love helping patients with their digestive issues. I was drawn to Gastroenterology because of the combination of in office work and procedure work but I also love the digestive system. Plus, it’s one of the most important systems of the body. If it’s not working right, many other things can go wrong. I love educating patients about how their GI system works and what they need to do to turn their symptoms around.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.drlizcruz.com
• Instagram: drlizcruz
• Facebook: DrLiz Cruz
• Linkedin: Liz Cruz MD
• Twitter: @drlizcruz
• Youtube: www.drlizcruz.com
• Other: Pintrist – drlizcruz

Image Credits
Not applicable.