“Treat Your Patients Like They Are Family Members.”
Dr. Steve Wolfe, D.O., FACEP, FAAEM
Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Steve Wolfe's philosophy of patient care was greatly influenced by his late uncle, an internist. “My uncle would get up early, go to the hospital, do his rounds, then go to his private practice. He would spend all the time he needed to be with his patients. We would call that 'old-school' nowadays .” When his uncle died, Dr. Wolfe took time to reflect on what his uncle taught him. “He always said to me 'Treat your patients like they're family members.'” It's a philosophy Dr. Wolfe puts into practice every day at Lakeside.
“I like working in the Emergency Department at Lakeside because there's variety,” Dr. Wolfe says. “I take care of both non-acute and emergency situations.” Because Lakeside doesn't have a traditional triage protocol, many times the doctor may be the first person that the patient sees. Dr. Wolfe says, “I'm usually the first one seeing the patient and I have to decide what their diagnosis and workup should be. I can talk to them and help them through their trauma. It's a great feeling when you make that difference in someone’s life.”
Dr. Wolfe is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. He has been practicing Emergency Medicine in Rochester for almost twenty years. Previous to joining Lakeside in 2008, he was at Unity Health. For many years he was the Education Coordinator for St. Mary’s and then Park Ridge’s Medical Residency Program. He has been a Senior Clinical Instructor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, as well as an Adjunct Clinical Faculty member of RIT’s physician assistant program.
To Dr. Wolfe, quality of care sometimes comes down to the little things. “I find that the most rewarding moments are the very small things--when you're 'taking care of a pediatric patient and they give you a smile or laugh. Or that period of time when family members need comforting because their loved ones aren't doing well. Those are the little moments that are sometimes more important than any medical information you can give.” And that's a sentiment that would make his uncle proud.