MDNews - Cleveland-Akron-Canton

One of Dr. Weiner’s chief areas of interest is skeletal dysplasia, bone and cartilage disorders that affect growth and development of the skeleton and result in short stature or dwarfism. He is shown here examining a patient with Bonnie Leighley, RN. At 45 years with Akron Children’s, Leighley is the hospital’s longest-serving nurse. he’s learned as chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and professor at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). His travels led him from hospitals in Canada to Connecticut and California, then back to Canada for a spine fellowship at Wellesley Hospital of Toronto, before returning to Akron Children’s as director of Pediatric Orthopedic Education in 1970. At the time, he was newly board-certified by a special project of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. His first action as director was to make research mandatory for residents. “We had been training orthopedic residents at Akron Children’s since the 1940s. But as training evolved, it became clear research needed to be a bigger part of it,” says Dr. Weiner. “I believe research makes residents more complete. It broadens their exposure to clinical judgements such as assessing various treatment options, but also offers the opportunity to work in the laboratory to understand basic pathologies. At the time, research was becoming more important in orthopedic training nationally.” Today, Akron Children’s trains orthopedic residents from Summa Health System in Akron, Akron General Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and Affinity Medical Center in Massi l lon. Thanks to Dr. Weiner’s efforts, Akron Children’s orthopedic residents, along with five of the physicians he has recruited, are involved in a range of research projects. Some are supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, but most are funded by individual donors. Chair of the Department In 1980, there were two significant events in Dr. Weiner’s career — his appointment as chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and the addition of Bonnie Leighley, RN, nurse clinician, to his team. At 45 years with Akron Children’s, Leighley is the hospital’s longest-serving nurse and “a pivotal part of what we do here,” according to Dr. Weiner. Since 1980, she has worked with Dr. Weiner as department coordinator, research assistant and office manager. Under Dr. Weiner’s leadership, Akron Children’s pediatric orthopedic surgical team includes Patrick Riley, MD, Bill Schrader, MD, Kerwyn Jones, MD (director of Orthopedic Education), Mark Adamczyk, MD, and Todd Ritzman, MD. Another surgeon is expected to join the Akron orthopedic surgical team in the fall. Sheryl Handler-Matasar, MD, sees patients in the Mahoning Valley. The department’s steady growth has mirrored Akron Children’s increased volume of orthopedic cases. “We perform more than 2,000 ortho- pedic operations at Akron Children’s every year and have a huge emergency room for orthopedic problems where we sometimes see 30 or more fractures a day,” says Dr. Weiner, who points out that 65 to 70 percent of the patients he personally sees are outside of Summit MDNEWS.COM  JULY-AUGUST 2011  MD NEWS Cleveland-Akron-Canton | 21 PHOTO © JOE SMITHBERGER, SMITHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY, NORTH CANTON

• Cover