Michael Mazzei, MD, MS, MPH

I base my philosophy of care on the fact traumatic injuries and surgical emergencies are shocking and frightening times in patients' lives – perhaps the most stressful moments patients and their families will ever experience. Every patient deserves a team of medical professionals trained for such scenarios; a team that provides top-level medical care in the trauma bay, the operating room, the intensive care unit and beyond. Patients also deserve a team that will communicate openly with them, treat them with respect and dignity, and above all be their advocate. As a surgeon and an intensivist, but also a clinical researcher and a public health advocate, I take pride in being part of a trauma team that strives to exceed these goals every day.

I entered medicine to help care for people at their sickest, and for me that meant trauma, critical care and emergency surgery. It is both a serious responsibility and a great privilege to treat patients during these moments, using my training and expertise to guide them through.

The best way to treat traumatic injury involves not only caring for individual patients, but also outreach with the community. My previous interests have included mapping traumatic injuries at the community level to identify hot spots for intervention. I also believe part of my responsibility as a surgeon is training the next generation, and I have helped spearhead a surgical stress-training program to provide medical residents with the skills to manage critically ill patients.

I am very lucky to have a wonderful family! When not working, I love to explore the beautiful Lehigh Valley with my wife and my precious daughter.