Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/727041
FOR RICK GEMMA, DO, FACOS, there's no telling what to expect in the OR on a ny g iven day. A patient may come in for a routine ing uina l hernia repa ir or for emergency surger y for a perforated gastric ulcer. A nd that, he says, is what ma kes his job so exciting. " In genera l surger y, there's quite a la rge ex posure. It 's a lmost like being the prima r y ca re g iver in the medicine world ; you ne ver k now wh a t you' l l encounter," he ex pla ins. " The va riet y of cases keeps it interesting." A Solon, Ohio, native a nd g raduate of La ke Er ie Col lege of Osteopat h ic Medicine, Dr. Gemma completed fel- lowship tra ining in Genera l Surger y at South Pointe Hospita l in Wa rrensville Heights before leading a private practice in Clevela nd for nea rly a decade. More recently he ser ved as a sta ff surgeon at Clevela nd Clinic. I n Ju ly 2 016 , he joi ne d We s t er n R e s er v e Ho s pit a l Phy s ic i a n s , I nc . Western Reser ve Hospita l is Northeast O h i o 's f i r s t a n d o n l y f u l l- s e r v i c e physicia n-owned a nd -operated acute ca re hospita l offering 24/7 emergency ca re. Here, Dr. Gemma treats patients with complex conditions, such as colon ca ncer, agg ressive brea st ca ncer, a nd abdom ina l /ing uina l her nia . He a lso treats relatively common conditions, such as hemorrhoids a nd appendicitis. For the ma rried father of two, fa mily holds an important place in Dr. Gemma's life. In fact, it 's what inspired him to become a genera l surgeon. " My fat her wa s a genera l surgeon, so I 'm se c ond gener at ion ," he say s . "I've a lways had a n interest in genera l surger y — the innovations a ssociated with surgery, surgica l procedures, being able to ta ke and fix something and ma ke people feel better." Rick Gemma, DO, FACOS, joined Western Reserve Hospital Physicians, Inc. in July 2016. A Solon, Ohio, native and graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Gemma completed fellowship training in General Surgery at South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights before leading a private practice in Cleveland for nearly a decade. More recently he served as a staff surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. Joins Western Reserve Hospital Physicians BY NEIL A. ALLEN GENERAL SURGEON PHOTOS © KEN LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY, COPLEY, OHIO 1 4 1 4P H Y S I C I A N S P O T L I G H T