When the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce chose to honor St. Luke\u2019s physician Gregory Dobash, MD, for his history of caring for the desperately needy, at-risk and neglected population in the county, they created a special award.<\/p>\n
Dr. Dobash was announced as the first-ever recipient of the\u00a0Humanitarian of the Year<\/em>\u00a0award from the Chamber at its Annual Luncheon on May 3\u00a0and\u00a0will\u00a0receive the award at its Annual Awards Breakfast on June 12.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n A family medicine, obesity medicine and addiction medicine specialist, Dr. Dobash is based at St. Luke\u2019s Ashland Family Practice and Rural Health Centers in Hometown and Ringtown, though his commitment and efforts also benefit the needy and underserved across Schuylkill County.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Humanitarian of the Year<\/em>\u00a0award recognizes Dr. Dobash for his work leading the St. Luke\u2019s Rural Residency Team in providing care, wellness services and education to the homeless, people suffering from mental illness or the disease of addiction, the economically challenged and other chronically sick and neglected who often live on the outer edge of the society.<\/p>\n Jeanette Triano Sinn, executive director of Servant to All and My Father\u2019s House homeless shelter in Pottsville, originally nominated Dr. Dobash for the Chamber\u2019s\u00a0Business Man of the Year<\/em>\u00a0award.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Dobash and the St. Luke\u2019s Rural Medicine Residency team are a blessing to the homeless, unsheltered and at-risk people they provide care to, addressing medical needs that would otherwise go unmet,” said Triano Sinn. “We are grateful for his vision, dedication and passion in partnering with our organization to serve the community, and we congratulate him on this award and thank him for his leadership in service to others!\u201d<\/p>\n However, in reviewing Triano Sinn\u2019s nomination, \u201cthe Awards Committee became acutely aware of some significant \u2018servant leadership\u2019 and humanitarian contributions being made to several nonprofit organizations by Dr. Greg Dobash,\u201d explained Robert S. Carl, Jr., president and CEO of the Chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile his work was viewed \u2018competitively\u2019 in some of our award categories, the depth and breadth of his \u2018servant leadership\u2019 and humanitarian work seemed far reaching,\u201d Carl continued. \u201cAs such, the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce Awards Committee decided to award Dr. Greg Dobash a special Humanitarian of the Year award in 2024, to recognize his great work and significant time commitment in the service to others in need.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Dobash lives in Mountain Top with his wife, Stacey, and their dog, Romeo.\u00a0\u00a0The couple has a daughter at Union College in NY, and a son who attends the Keswick School in Virginia.<\/p>\n After joining St. Luke\u2019s in 2012, Dr. Dobash helped found the Rural Medicine Residency Program with Thomas McGinley, MD, in 2018, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. He is board certified in Family Medicine, Addiction Medicine and Obesity Medicine and is a Wilderness Medicine Fellow.<\/p>\n In 2022, he began the street medicine walk-in clinic at Servants to All homeless shelter, then integrated psychiatric services and telemedicine at the clinic. He has hosted fundraisers to benefit the homeless and initiated public health efforts to increase vaccination rates among the minority population in Schuylkill County. He has assisted Servants to All and the Hope Center in Schuylkill County to initiate harm reduction, reduce domestic violence and prevent and reduce substance use disorder\/opiate use disorder, also providing naloxone and anti-vaping education in schools.<\/p>\n Dr. Dobash works with the county\u2019s Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center to prevent abuse and treat victims of sexual violence and human trafficking.<\/p>\n Through the Rural Residency, he prepares the next generation of physicians to continue this work, which includes directing the St.\u00a0 Luke\u2019s Addiction Medicine\u00a0Fellowship Program.\u00a0 Through collaboration with Miners Emergency Department, Community Health and Rural Medicine, the volume of overdose victims presenting at St. Luke\u2019s Miners Campus has decreased by 57 % since 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Dobash is a superb physician, teacher and person!\u201d said Thomas McGinley, MD. \u201cHis dedication to serving his patients and communities is exemplary, as is his teaching of residents and medical students. His advocacy for marginalized populations serves as a role model for others. He is respected by his peers, patients and colleagues. It is an honor to work with him.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1872,\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 300+ outpatient sites.\u00a0 With annual net revenue of $3.4 billion, the Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.\u00a0 In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school campus.\u00a0 It also operates the nation\u2019s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 45 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 400 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke\u2019s, a member of the Children\u2019s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.<\/p>\n SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s\u00a0five-star<\/em>\u00a0ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.\u00a0 It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades\u00a0Top Hospital<\/em>\u00a0and a Newsweek World\u2019s\u00a0Best Hospital<\/em>.\u00a0 The Network\u2019s flagship University Hospital has earned the\u00a0100 Top Major Teaching Hospital<\/em>\u00a0designation from Fortune\/PINC AI 11 times total and eight years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.\u00a0 In 2021, St. Luke\u2019s was identified as one of the\u00a015 Top Health Systems<\/em>\u00a0nationally.\u00a0 Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the\u00a0Most Wired<\/em>\u00a0award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information. \u00a0The Network is also recognized as one of the state\u2019s lowest cost providers.<\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: When the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce chose to honor St. Luke\u2019s physician Gregory Dobash, MD, for his history of caring for the desperately needy, at-risk and neglected population in … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s Gregory Dobash, MD, Receives First-ever Humanitarian of the Year Award from Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce<\/span>
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"