Ryan Collins, Natasha Alligood-Percoco and Fadi Sweiss: 3 UPMC physicians named ‘Top Physicians Under 40’
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Each year the Pennsylvania Medical Society honors "the best of the best early career physicians" in naming the Top Physicians Under 40.
"Throughout the commonwealth are talented early career physicians, who already are performing at a high level," the society states.
"Our awards are given out on an annual basis," said Myla Merkel, media coordinator with the Pennsylvania Medical Society. "Nominations are collected for about a year by their peers and are selected by a committee of PAMED members."
"The recipients who are chosen stand out among their peers for their passions for the community and public health initiatives," she said.
And this year, three medical professionals from UPMC Williamsport have been chosen to join the select group.
Dr. Ryan Collins, a board-certified pathologist, began his medical career during an 11-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, and came to Williamsport Pathology Association in 2019.
"We've been very fortunate to have him join us," said Dr. Jamie Adam, MD, medical director for laboratory services, UPMC in North Central Pa. "He's a fantastic colleague, an excellent pathologist, and he's always enthusiastic about looking at cases with us."
"He's a collegial and kind person," said Dr. Jaclyn R. Cappel, MD, chair of radiology and pathology, UPMC in North Central Pa. "His office door is always open, and he is extremely approachable and always willing to lend a helping hand."
Collins' understanding of the I.T. system at the University of Pittsburgh, where he completed his residency, allowed him to solve technical issues that have arose since his arrival in Williamsport.
Like many areas, the medical community in Williamsport have been plagued with staffing issues, and Collins was one of the first to step up and volunteer his time to fill in the gap.
"That was a huge help to the whole system, and certainly helped make sure that patients got timely results," Cappel said.
Collins has been heavily involved in UPMC Williamsport's planning of a major renovation and expansion of the pathology lab, an opportunity that Adam calls "essentially once in a career opportunity to design a new laboratory, so, that's another area where he's been very helpful."
Collins is a house delegate for the Pennsylvania Medical Society, is vice president of the Lycoming County Medical Society and is director of Laboratory Services for Lock Haven Outpatient Center.
Dr. Natasha Alligood-Percoco, board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, completed her residency at Penn State College of Medicine-Hershey, and came to UPMC North Central Pa. in September 2016.
"We have been working together for about a year," said Sarah Kozlowski, physician assistant, UPMC Magee-Womens. "This is my first job out of college, and as my supervising physician and mentor, she's been patient, helped me every step of the way, and is always open to questions and collaboration. So it's been really helpful to have that."
Alligood-Percoco is well-known for her activism on behalf of women's choice and her willingness to speak up on hot button issues.
"She is a big advocate for women being at the forefront of their health care decisions, whether that be pregnancy loss, miscarriage, abortion or birth control."
"Dr. Alligood-Percoco also actively works to provide a safe space for transgender patients, and the LGBTQIA community in general to find routine health care, and also gender-affirming care, something we are significantly lacking in this area," Kozlowski said. "Prior to Dr. Alligood-Percoco, a lot of them would have to go to bigger cities, such as Pittsburgh, which many don't have the resources to do."
"She really is one of the best in terms of sitting down and listening to all patients and truly giving them time to speak, versus just jumping to 'OK, here's the plan,' and giving them time to contribute to their health care decisions."
Alligood-Percoco has also been instrumental in bringing minimally-invasive gynecologic surgery to the area, offering shorter recovery times and decreased risk of adverse complications.
"For rural Pennsylvania, these are not things that patients have typically had access to," according to Kozlowski.
In addition, Alligood-Percoco, "does a lot of research on the history of medicine and women's health care, specifically in Williamsport, uncovering women's role in medicine," Kozlowski said.
Dr. Fadi Sweiss, MD, is a neurosurgeon, who has been with UPMC Williamsport for two and a half years. He completed his medical degree at Northeast Ohio Medical University, and his fellowship and residency at George Washington University Medical Center.
"My first very first interaction with him was a photoshoot of the neuroscience department providers," said Dr. Mohamed Osman, MD, medical director for the Interventional Pain department, UPMC Williamsport, "so, it was unlike the usual interactions that you have with surgeons, and it kind of threw me off, but it was nice to have just a quick development of a rapport between us."
"His number one priority is patient care and safety," Osman said. "He's easy to work with because we all get that it's all about the patients. I can send someone to him, and I can pretty much guarantee that he'll do it. We respect each other's needs and we honor each other when one of us feels like someone really needs to be seen ASAP."
A rarity in the field of neurosurgery, Osman has had the pleasure of seeing Sweiss interact one-on-one with patients.
"It wasn't a patient of mine, but we were assisting a colleague, and Dr. Sweiss made our patient just feel very relaxed and so confident that he was going to be able to help in some way," Osman said.
"I thought that was pretty neat because you don't usually see a neurosurgeon bedside, usually you see them at their best in the operating room, but he has the ability to bring calmness and confidence to a patient in a moment of fear," he added.
Osman says that despite the heavy burden of the job, Sweiss has shown himself to be remarkably flexible and able to respond to any challenges that come his way.
"He is a very intelligent and extremely hard working individual. He probably works harder than anyone else in the hospital."
"He's been primarily the only neurosurgeon for the hospital for a while now," Osman continued, "so he's had to take on a lot of responsibility. He's always on call, 24/7. No matter what the problem is, he's the guy. Whether it's carpal tunnel, brain-related, neck surgery, spine surgery, he's always answered, which is awesome.
"He does it all to be honest. Upper extremities, carpal tunnels, and he's an extremely brilliant spine surgeon. You know, with confidence, when you send patients to Dr. Sweiss, he will take good care of them," Osman said.