Five new doctors join ranks of Sault Ste. Marie medical community

One thing is for sure in Sault Ste. Marie these days--there's no shortage of doctors.

War Memorial Hospital and has announced the addition of four new doctors to its staff, including an orthopedic surgeon, an infectious disease specialist, a pediatrician and a gynecologist. Chippewa Medical Associates announced the hiring of an internist to its staff as well.

For Patrick Galey, an orthopedic surgeon, joining the War Memorial Hospital staff and relocating to Sault Ste. Marie meant coming home to family and friends. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, native, has practiced medicine all over the world.

Galey will treat patients with a wide variety of conditions, including those with athletic injuries, degenerative problems, and other general orthopedic ailments. The surgeon has had specialized training in joint reconstruction and has additional experience in scoping and sports medicine.

Infection disease specialist Nessrine Ktaich has also joined the staff as the area's first practitioner specializing in her field. She will focus her expertise on patients suffering from a variety of infections, including those that are viral, bacterial, fungal, parasitic and chronic.

"These infections can attack any part of the body, so I will treat any organ in the body, including the lungs, heart, bone, skin, soft tissue, and more," says Ktaich, who is also a Hepatitis C and HIV specialist.

Previously, patients in critical need of specialized care were transferred to other facilities, leaving them far from home and family. "There are many situations where it helps to have an infectious disease specialist at hand," Ktaich says.

After more than 13 years practicing pediatric medicine in the Muskegon area, Robert Beckman relocated to Sault Ste. Marie as the newest pediatrician to join Sault Pediatrics at War Memorial Hospital; and Madeleine Neri Guevara, who previously practiced OB/GYN at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital, joins the staff of Sault Women's Healthcare at War Memorial.

Chippewa Medical Associates has welcomed a new physician to its ranks with internist Mohammed Hashem, whose philosophy for patient care is simple: he wants community members to be healthy.

The doctor discovered the Eastern Upper Peninsula thanks to another local physician--nephrologist Mohammed Haider-- a fellow countryman from Bangladesh who, according to Hashem, told the new physician "the weather is cold, but the people are good."

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Angela Nebel, Summit Public Relations