Bristol Regional adds orthopedic traumatologist to enhance emergency services
BRISTOL – The 12 months Dr. Daniel Krenk spent serving a surgical fellowship in Pittsburgh provided him with clarity as to the medicine he wanted to practice – and where he wanted to practice it.
“I enjoy changing people’s lives; I love fracture care – and that’s one of the most important aspects of being an orthopedic traumatologist,” Dr. Krenk said. “I enjoy trying to get people back to the best physical state possible.”
Those 12 months also gave him direction on where he wanted to live. And fortunately for trauma patients in this region, that path led him to Bristol.
Dr. Krenk recently joined Bristol Regional Medical Center as the resident orthopedic traumatologist for the hospital’s Level II trauma center, becoming only the second orthopedic traumatologist in the Tri-Cities region. The first, Dr. Robert Harris of Holston Valley Medical Center’s Level I trauma center, helped convince Dr. Krenk to bring his surgical skills to Bristol Regional and join him in practice, Regional Orthopaedic Traumatology Associates.
Orthopedic traumatologists are surgical intensivists who specialize in treating and repairing complex fractures that most frequently happen as the result of car and motorcycle wrecks, all-terrain vehicle accidents, bad falls and gunshot wounds. At a trauma center lacking an orthopedic traumatologist, patients who need care for those types of severe wounds might have to be transported to Asheville, N.C., or Knoxville.
After earning his medical degree in 2001 at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pa., Dr. Krenk completed a five-year residency in orthopedic surgery at Millcreek Community Hospital in Erie. Then he spent the next year serving his orthopedic trauma fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where trauma cases came through the doors in abundance.
“In the 12 months I was at Allegheny General I was working every day and night; I got a lot of calls and it was a great experience learning from my fellowship directors, who are excellent physicians,” Dr. Krenk said. “I knew I wanted to do trauma. But I was tired of the rat race. We chose Bristol Regional Medical Center on quality-of-life issues.
“I was tired of working at a hospital where we had almost 1,000 beds. I wanted a smaller atmosphere, a place where you could still practice in a personable environment, provide superior patient care and have accessibility to a wide variety of specialists. Bristol has all of those vital elements! In a larger hospital, everybody just sort of functions by themselves and nobody knows anybody – at one time I was employed by a hospital which supported 14,000 employees. I like it where everybody’s working together as a team. It makes for much better patient experience.”
Having an orthopedic traumatologist on staff increases the likelihood of good patient outcomes.
“Dan’s arrival adds another piece to a puzzle that’s been coming together for years, and we’re excited to have him on board,” said Dr. Mark Woodard, a board-certified emergency physician who is director of Bristol Regional’s emergency department and Level II trauma center. “It adds another quality orthopedic physician to the group that’s been serving our patients well for a long time.”
Bart Hove, president of Bristol Regional, said the hospital recruited Dr. Krenk with patients in mind.
“We’re proud of the service our trauma center already offers, and we know Dr. Krenk’s presence only makes for better potential patient outcomes,” Hove said. “Dr. Krenk will augment the already excellent care provided by the orthopedists and other caregivers affiliated with Bristol Regional.”
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