WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital offers Unparalleled Orthopedic Care
Residents in the Ohio Valley no longer have to travel out of the region to receive top-class orthopedic care. Last year, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital recruited the leading orthopedic surgeons in orthopedic trauma and sports medicine to join their team.
“No one wants to travel to an unfamiliar place for their care,” Dr. Ivan Tarkin, chairman of orthopedics at Wheeling Hospital and clinical professor of orthopedics at West Virginia University School of Medicine, said. “If our patients are receiving expert care in their backyard, that leads to a lot of convenience and satisfaction. Our patients appreciate that we are providing these services in their own community, and they don’t have to go elsewhere.”
Tarkin, a nationally recognized surgeon, spent more than 15 years at UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, and understands first hand the importance of having quality care close to home.
“I’m bringing expert, elite trauma care to the region, and I’m very happy to do so,” Tarkin said.
Tarkin said the community was in need of comprehensive orthopedic care.
“Now, rarely does any person with a bad injury – like a fracture or an injury to a long bone or joint – come through Wheeling Hospital or Reynolds Memorial Hospital and need to go elsewhere. They can stay right in their
own region or right in their backyard and get expert care. I’m thrilled that the community has welcomed me with open arms. It’s a pleasure to come and serve.”
Orthopedic surgery addresses problems of the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use surgical and nonsurgical methods to treat musculoskeletal trauma, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors and congenital defects. Examples of the services provided by orthopedic surgery include ACL treatment, foot and ankle surgery, total joint reconstruction and treatment of orthopedic trauma.
“When you’re a patient and you have a musculoskeletal condition or an injury, you WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital offers Unparalleled Orthopedic Care just want to be able to go to one facility and get the care you need,” Tarkin said. “A patient once asked me, ‘how do I know who I need to see?’ The answer is that you can come to Wheeling Hospital and we’ll have expert care for you.”
Dr. Ron Sismondo, Wheeling Hospital’s orthopedic sports medicine surgeon, is pleased to bring the most up-to-date and nuanced sports medicine care to the valley.
“I treat everything from injuries in high level competitive athletes, to weekend warriors, to patients who just want to be able to maintain their level of function and a healthy lifestyle ,” he said. “I run the whole gambit. Part of the reason I was asked to join this team was to cover the more complex side of sports medicine. Our goal is to ensure patients have the highest level of care possible to optimize their function and performance no matter what their end goal may be.
While many patients tend to believe that sports medicine happens on the sidelines, Sismondo said that’s only a small part of his job.
“I cover multiple teams around the area,” he said. “That includes the local high schools and three colleges. I work with the Wheeling Nailers and now the Wheeling Miners, our arena football league team. I’m at
these games. I’m watching these athletes play. There’s no better feeling than watching someone you treated back out on the field having success. There’s a different level of connection.”
Both doctors anticipate additional growth within the practice in the coming years.
“We want to be a destination. We want to ensure we’re providing top-level care right here in the community,” Sismondo said. “I’m from the valley. I grew up about 20 minutes north of Wheeling. I feel like I know what it means to the people of the Ohio Valley to have this here at home.”
To learn more about Wheeling Hospital’s orthopedic surgeons and the services they
offer, visit wvumedicine.org/wheeling/services/orthopedic-surgery/.
Sponsored content brought to you by WVU Medicine