Patients at Crenshaw Community Hospital will see a new face joining the hospital's staff.

Dr. Marylou Bernardo, a board certified pediatrician, has joined the hospital and is already seeing patients each Friday.

&#8220I began here at Crenshaw Community Hospital the first week of July, and I am really excited to be here,” Dr. Bernardo said.

At this time, she is seeing patients on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., but she is available for consultation at any time from Monday through Thursday.

Bernardo said that if anyone needed to contact her, he or she could call Elizabeth King, who is a nurse practitioner at the hospital, at 335-1212.

&#8220If I see that I need to be here more days, then I certainly will be,” she said.

Bernardo's office will be located in the new part of the hospital after completion of the new construction project. She is currently located in the Family Care Center.

Some of the services that Bernardo provides include healthcare services for infants, children and adolescents, regular, preventive check-ups for children, immunizations, sick visit consultations and family planning. She is also beginning a new wellness program that will focus on obese children.

&#8220The Family Care Center is currently enrolled under the ‘Vaccines for Children Program' that provides free immunizations for children in Alabama,” Bernardo said.

Dr. Bernardo, who is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is presently in her second term as Chief of Staff at the Bullock County Hospital in Union Springs, where she has served since 1999. She is also the Rural Health Clinic Medical Director for the Perfect Kids and Family Care Clinic in Union Springs, as well as the Laboratory Medical Director at the Bullock County Hospital.

She received her Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.

While serving in the department of pediatrics at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York, Bernardo received the &#8220Most Outstanding Intern” award.

Her many certifications include the American Board of Pediatrics, Certification of Business Administration, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Neonatal Advanced Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support.

Bernardo, who has lived in Alabama for six years, has family in Florida. Her hobbies include playing tennis, swimming, playing golf, hiking, and she enjoys ballroom dancing. She also enjoys learning new languages and is currently studying Korean.