
Salvador Villanueva MD, FACEP
Board-Certified Emergency Medical Physician
Dr. Salvador Villanueva was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where he developed a passion for medicine early in life. He attended the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, earning his medical degree from 1992 to 1996. Following graduation, he pursued his Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Puerto Rico, completing it in 1999.
In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Villanueva served as an Army Major in the U.S. Army, fulfilling active-duty requirements at the Ft. Bliss Army Medical Center in El Paso, TX, from 1999 to 2001. He continued his service in the U.S. Army Reserve from 2001 to 2008.
Dr. Villanueva has dedicated much of his career to Emergency Medicine. He served as CORE faculty for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at the University of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2010. He then took on a similar role at the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico from 2010 to 2012. In 2012, he joined HCA Brandon as an Emergency Medicine physician and served as the Program Director for the HCA Brandon Emergency Medicine Residency from 2017 to 2020. Additionally, he served as CORE faculty for the HCA Brandon/US School of Medicine Emergency Medicine Residency Program from 2018 to 2024. Since 2023, Dr. Villanueva has also been working part-time at TGH North Hospitals and the SEP group.
Dr. Villanueva is passionate about critical care, difficult procedures, and end-of-life care in Emergency Medicine.
He has been happily married to Amara Garcia for 30 years, and they have two children. Their daughter, Nicole Villanueva, is an art therapist and artist, while their son, Alec Villanueva, is a 26-year-old chef at Sorekara in Orlando. The family has called Tampa home since 2010.
Outside the emergency room, Dr. Villanueva enjoys spending time with his family and traveling to destinations such as San Miguel de Allende (Mexico), Spain, Italy, and Iceland. He loves trying new restaurants, bars, and Michelin-starred eateries. He likes to consider himself a home chef and mixologist, enjoying the experimentation of new recipes and cocktails. Additionally, he enjoys kayaking, cycling on his Peloton bike, and spending time with his rescued cat, Frida.