MDNews - Cleveland-Akron-Canton

COVER FEATURE Alan L. Meshekow, DO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Medical Staff President, Residency Program Director for General Surgery and Medical Director of Trauma Services, is pictured here with John S. Current, DO, Medical Director of Emergency Medicine, in Affinity Medical Center's new Emergency Department. Alan L. Meshekow, DO, FACOS Leading by Example for 34 years By Robert Janek F ROM THE BIG city in New York to a small rural town in Ohio — that's the route Alan L. Meshekow, DO, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Affinity Medical Center, took to become a general surgeon 34 years ago. Along the way, he Of all his administrative positions, Dr. Meshekow most enjoys his role as Residency Program Director for General Surgery. 10 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD NEWS I MDNEWS.COM I SEPTEMBER- OCTOBER 2013 has seen a lot of changes — in his profession, in the hospital which attracted him to Northeast Ohio and in overall patient care. For more than 30 years, he's worked passionately for the betterment of all three. Born and raised in the Bronx in New York City, Dr. Meshekow earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology at the University of Rhode Island and pursued a Master of Science degree in biology at New York University. Ultimately, it was his love of biological sciences that drew him towards medicine as a career, and eventually to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, from which he graduated in 1974. Following an internship and general surgery residency at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, he joined Perryhill Surgeons Inc. and Doctors Hospital of Stark County (now Affinity Medical Center) in Massillon. That was in 1979. He's remained with both ever since. When asked to name the most significant change in general surgery during his career, Dr. Meshekow points to technology — specifically, the laparoscope. "Initially, it was used for cholecystectomy and now for multiple other operations, including anti-reflux procedures and colon resections," he says. When asked the same about Affinity, he points to events during

• Cover