One thing is for sure in Sault Ste. Marie these days--there's no shortage of doctors.
War Memorial Hospital and has announced the addition of four new doctors to their staff, including an orthopedic surgeon, an infectious disease specialists, a pediatrician and a gynecologist. Chippewa Medical Associates announced the hiring of an internist to their staff as well.
For Patrick Galey, an orthopedic surgeon, joining the War Memorial Hospital staff and relocating to Sault Ste. Marie meant coming home to family and friends. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, native, has practiced medicine all over the world, but came home to join War Memorial Hospital's staff.
"We made the decision in the last year that we wanted to come home," Galey says.
Galey will treat patients with a wide variety of conditions, including those with athletic injuries, degenerative problems, and other general orthopedic ailments. The surgeon has had specialized training in joint reconstruction and has additional experience in scoping and sports medicine.
Infection disease specialist Nessrine Ktaich has also joined the staff as the area's first practitioner specializing in her field. She will focus her expertise on patients suffering from a variety of infections, including those that are viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and chronic.
"These infections can attack any part of the body, so I will treat any organ in the body, including the lungs, heart, bone, skin, soft tissue, and more," Ktaich explains. "I am also a Hepatitis C and HIV specialist as well."
Previously, patients in critical need of specialized care were transferred to other facilities, leaving them far from home and family. "There are many situations where it helps to have an infectious disease specialist at hand," the doctor says. "You may have patients on dialysis or oncology patients receiving chemotherapy who are immunosuppressed and are getting intravenous treatment. It is useful to have someone who is prepared to watch for and appropriately treat infection."
After more than 13 years practicing pediatric medicine in the Muskegon area, Robert Beckman relocated to Sault Ste. Marie as the newest pediatrician to join Sault Pediatrics at War Memorial Hospital.
One could safely say that Beckman's life revolves around children, both at work and at home. He and his wife of 20 years are parents to nine children ranging in ages from two to 17. The doctor reports that his family of three girls and six boys are all adjusting well to life in the Upper Peninsula.
"The key is getting into a schedule at home" he explains. "Once we get into a routine, all is well."
Expectant mothers and women in need of gynecological care have a new option as Madeleine Neri Guevara joins the staff of Sault Women's Healthcare at War Memorial.
The OB/GYN previously practiced at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital. Earlier this year, the hospital announced it would close its obstetrics unit for economic reasons. Guevara says it was a natural progression that she turn to the Soo when searching for a new community.
"My brother is a physician in the emergency room at War Memorial," she says. "I have always looked up to him and he has always encouraged me to come to Sault Ste. Marie."
As a wife and mother to three children, Guevara is a big believer that women need to focus on their own health care if they are to be a better caregiver to the family.
"Women have a tendency to put other people first. I encourage all women to not let their own preventative care slip," she says.
Chippewa Medical Associates has welcomed a new physician to its ranks with internist Mohammed Hashem.
Spending time getting to know patients and their medical concerns is a passion of the new doctor, who reports that, in his previous practice, "my patients were happy because I would give them a lot of my time."
Hashem's philosophy for patient care is simple: He wants community members to be healthy. "I am here to help them with that," he says.
The doctor discovered the Eastern Upper Peninsula thanks to another local physician--nephrologists Mohammed Haider-- a fellow countryman from Bangladesh who, according to Hashem, told the new physician "the weather is cold, but the people are good."
Writer: Sam EgglestonSource: Angela Nebel, Summit Public Relations