I was in the last year of orthopaedic surgery residency at University of Kentucky and was starting to look for a place to grow roots after my spine fellowship. I have a love for education and devoting time to my community. Josh, practice manager at Springfield Orthopaedics, reached out to me to discuss a job in Springfield, Ohio.

“We don’t have a spine surgeon in Springfield and the community is in great need of a good surgeon. Are you interested in creating a spine program in Springfield, Ohio?”, Josh said.

Me, start a spine program right out of fellowship? The job sounded challenging and rewarding and was exactly what I was looking for. I felt my training in a high volume level 1 trauma center in Lexington, my military experience, and my training at Texas Back Institute would give me the tools I needed to be provide central Ohio with expert spine care close to home.

I grew up in a small south Texas town of about 2,500 people. During my residency, I participated in an orthopaedic surgery rotation in Danville, KY, also a small town. At that time I knew that I wanted to practice in a small community. I enjoy the interaction between a surgeon and his community in a small town.

When we were growing up, my family took my brother to Galveston to see an eye specialist regularly. There were no eye specialists in south Texas that had experience with the eye condition he had. This experience showed me from a young age the importance of expert care in rural areas. I want to bring the specialist to the city of Springfield and the surrounding areas rather than having them travel long distances to find advanced spine care.

I have partnered with some great hospitals and my hope is that many patients find comfort in knowing they can find expert care close to home.

My goal, as well, is to have patients from Dayton, Columbus, Enon, Urbana, and the surrounding areas come to Springfield and enjoy the small town feel and receive excellent spine care.