Our History

Our practice was started in the late 1960's by Dr. Dorothy "Alyene" Reese.  When the office moved in 1987 to a new location in the Sports Medicine Complex in Northport, they changed the name to Tuscaloosa Pediatrics P.C.  Dr. Denise Brown joined the practice in the summer of 1990 and Dr. Julie Vaughn in 1996. Tuscaloosa Pediatrics moved to Helen Keller Boulevard in the summer of 2004. Dr. Allison Cunningham merged her practice, University Pediatrics, with ours in January of 2006. Dr. Megan McGiffert joined us in the fall of 2008 and Dr. Michelle Parchman joined us in the summer of 2014.  In fall 2018, Kaila Sullivan, CRNP joined us.  Tuscaloosa Pediatrics moved to our new office building on Harkey Lane in November 2018.  Dr. Joy Dean joined us in July of 2023.

Physicians

Denise Brown M.D.
Denise Brown M.D.
Dr Brown joined Tuscaloosa Pediatrics in 1990 after finishing her Pediatric residency at Children's Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham. She received her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology at Vanderbilt University and went on to medical school at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The aspect she loves most about pediatrics is the long term relationships she builds with her patients and their families over the years. She now sees many patients who are the children of parents she took care of while they were growing up. When she is not working she loves to cook and bake and is actively involved in the leadership of the women’s ministry team at her church and co-leads an adult home fellowship group with her husband Tim. Tim is a math teacher at American Christian Academy. She has 2 grown children, Nelson and Rebekah.
Allison Cunningham M.D.
Allison Cunningham M.D.
Megan McGiffert M.D.
Megan McGiffert M.D.
“Dr. Megan” is a native of Tuscaloosa. She attended Tuscaloosa Academy and was the fifth generation of her family to graduate from the University of Alabama where she obtained a B.S. in Biology and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She graduated from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 2005 and completed her residency in Pediatrics at UAB/Children’s of Alabama in 2008. She then joined Tuscaloosa Pediatrics in September 2008. She is Board Certified in Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She served as the Pediatric Department chairman at DCH Regional Medical Center from 2014-2016. She is currently on the board of Arts N’ Autism and has served as a deacon at First Presbyterian Church. She loves animals, especially her dog Teddy, and she loves that her patients are always showing her photos of their pets!
Michelle Parchman M.D.
Michelle Parchman M.D.
Julie Vaughn M.D.
Julie Vaughn M.D.
Joy Dean M.D.
Joy Dean M.D.
Dr. Joy Dean was born and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Genetics from Clemson University and her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. She then moved to Birmingham to complete a combined residency in Pediatrics and Genetics followed by a fellowship in Medical Biochemical Genetics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Since the completion of training, she has worked at UAB as a general and biochemical pediatric geneticist. Dr. Dean will be returning to her roots in general pediatrics and will be seeing children of all ages here at Tuscaloosa Pediatrics. She is excited to be here in Tuscaloosa with her husband and son in order to be closer to family.
Becky Brewbaker M.D. - Locum Tenens
Becky Brewbaker M.D. - Locum Tenens
What is a Locum Tenens physician? It is a doctor who temporarily fills in for the regular doctor in a medical practice instead of being a full time employee. This may happen when one of the doctors is off for vacation or is sick. Locum tenens doctors also help out during busy times when an extra doctor is needed, for example during flu season. This allows the medical practice to continue to provide care for all of their patients. A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Dr. Becky Brewbaker received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia. She completed her pediatrics residency at The Children’s Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham in 1989 and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Brewbaker is married to Bill Brewbaker, professor of law at the University of Alabama, and has five children and four grandchildren. Before moving to Tuscaloosa, Dr. Brewbaker practiced general pediatrics full-time in Birmingham. She now maintains a state wide locum tenens practice and has enjoyed serving patients at Tuscaloosa Pediatrics for more than two decades.
Kaila Sullivan CPNP - PC/AC
Kaila Sullivan CPNP - PC/AC
Kaila Sullivan was born and raised in Tuscaloosa. She earned a B.S. in Biology from Mississippi University for Women in 2013. Kaila received her B.S. in Nursing degree from UAB in December 2014. In February 2015, Kaila began working as a RN in the Special Care Unit at Children’s of Alabama. She completed her Masters degree in Nursing, Pediatric Primary and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from UAB in April 2018 and began working as a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Tuscaloosa Pediatrics in Summer 2018. Kaila resides in Tuscaloosa with her husband Cody, son Caleb, and their Golden Retriever, Maverick.
Paige Fancher, CRNP
Paige Fancher, CRNP
Paige Fancher grew up and went to school here in Tuscaloosa. She graduated from the University of Alabama in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Paige’s nursing background is all pediatrics including the Emergency Department and Pediatric ICU at Children’s of Alabama, and working as a nurse here at Tuscaloosa Pediatrics. She graduated from UAB with a Masters in Nursing specializing in Pediatric Primary Care in August of 2023. Paige and her husband Landon have a one year old son, Brodie, and a dog named Lexie.