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Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies and light freezing rain after midnight. Low 24F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 50%..
Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies and light freezing rain after midnight. Low 24F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
Updated: December 14, 2022 @ 7:55 pm
Dr. Zahi Kassas
Dr. Zahi Kassas
WELLSVILLE — Dr. Zahi Kassas, a Wellsville pediatrician, has been named the 2022 Rural Health Care Provider of the Year by the New York State Association for Rural Health.
A long-time member of the medical staff at Jones Memorial Hospital, Kassas was recognized for his dedication to the community, the hospital, and his patients. The award is presented annually to a direct service provider who has demonstrated leadership in bringing health services to citizens of rural New York.
“Dr. Kassas is a valuable member of our medical staff and we at Jones are thrilled that he has received this award and the well-deserved recognition that comes with it,” said Jim Helms, CEO at Jones Memorial. “We are proud of the commitment to care and caring that he demonstrates every day, with every patient.”
When he arrived in Wellsville in 1998, Kassas was eager to locate his new practice in a small, rural area.
“Knowing not just my patients but their parents and grandparents by name and — more recently — providing care to the children of my former patients is what practicing rural medicine is about,” he said, noting that he receives hundreds of invitations to graduations and weddings because a pediatrician becomes part of the family. “I often feel like being the other parent, or more accurately now, the other grandparent.”
In accepting the award, Kassas credited and thanked the hardworking colleagues he works with. These individuals include Monica Acomb, PNP: Dr. LuAnn Kaye; Neonatologist Jessica Strassner, PNP; Dr. Heather Lanphere, and Dr. Nishit Shah and Dr. Shachi Shah.
He also noted his appreciation for his office team: Laura Knapp, Stacy Ordway, Melissa Walsh, Kelly Matteson, and Katelyn Syska.
“They are the hardest working people I have ever met,” he said of his staff. He also thanked Dr. F.C. Miller and Dr. William Coch for serving as role models and mentors.
“I am a reflection of what they have achieved and taught me,” he said.
Kassas noted that rural healthcare has unique challenges that urban doctors do not face.
“For one thing, there are not as many of us so we often lean on each other for support and assistance,” he said. “For that reason, especially on a difficult case, the credit for treatment is usually shared among several providers.”
The completion of the Jones Memorial Transformation and Modernization project which brings new services and improvements to the building will go a long way in attracting the next generation of doctors and providers. Dr. and Mrs. Kassas have been generous donors to the hospital fundraising campaigns and this one is no exception. The Kassas family has led the way as a Corner Stone donor to this new capital project.
“A hospital must continue to grow and adapt to meet the needs of the patients it serves,” Kassas said. “Supporting it financially is vital to the future health of this community.”
Dr. Zahi Kassas
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