In Mountain Top, the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce honored Dr. Gregory Dobash, MD, for his work with the needy, at-risk, and neglected population in the county by giving him a special award.
Dr. Dobash, who lives in Mountain Top, was named the first-ever recipient of the “Humanitarian of the Year Award” from the Chamber at its Annual Luncheon on May 3. He will receive the award at the Annual Awards Breakfast on June 12.
Dr. Dobash, a family medicine, obesity medicine, and addiction medicine specialist at St. Luke’s Ashland Family Practice and Rural Health Centers in Hometown and Ringtown, helps needy and under-served people across Schuylkill County.
Dobash is being recognized with the Humanitarian of the Year award for his leadership of the St. Luke’s Rural Residency Team, providing care, wellness services, and education to the homeless, people suffering from mental illness or addiction, the economically challenged, and other chronically sick and neglected individuals who often live on the fringes of society.
Jeanette Triano Sinn, executive director of Servant to All and My Father’s House homeless shelter in Pottsville, initially nominated Dobash for the Chamber’s Business Man of the Year award.
Triano Sinn said, “Dr. Dobash and the St. Luke’s Rural Medicine Residency team are a blessing to the homeless, unsheltered, and at-risk people they provide care to, addressing medical needs that would otherwise go unmet. We are grateful for his vision, dedication, and passion in partnering with our organization to serve the community.
However, Robert S. Carl, Jr., President and CEO of the Chamber, stated that while reviewing Triano Sinn’s nomination, they became aware of some significant servant leadership and humanitarian contributions made to several nonprofit organizations by Dr. Greg Dobash.
The Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce Awards Committee decided to present Dr. Greg Dobash with a special Humanitarian of the Year award in 2024, recognizing his great work and significant time commitment in serving others in need.
Dr. Dobash resides in Mountain Top with his wife, Stacey, and their dog, Romeo. They have a daughter at Union College in New York and a son who attends the Keswick School in Virginia.
Since joining St. Luke’s in 2012, Dr. Dobash helped establish the Rural Medicine Residency Program with Thomas McGinley, MD, in 2018 — the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. He is board certified in Family Medicine, Addiction Medicine, and Obesity Medicine and is a Wilderness Medicine Fellow.
In 2022, he started the street medicine walk-in clinic at Servants to All homeless shelter, then integrated psychiatric services and telemedicine at the clinic. He has organized fundraisers for the homeless and initiated public health efforts to increase vaccination rates among the minority population in Schuylkill County. He has also helped Servants to All and the Hope Center in Schuylkill County to initiate harm reduction, reduce domestic violence, and prevent and reduce substance use disorder/opiate use disorder, while providing naloxone and anti-vaping education in schools.
Dobash collaborates with the county's Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center to stop abuse and help victims of sexual violence and human trafficking.
As part of the Rural Residency, he trains the next generation of doctors to continue this work, which involves overseeing the St. Luke's Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program. By working with Miners Emergency Department, Community Health and Rural Medicine, the number of overdose victims coming to St. Luke's Miners Campus has dropped by 57% since 2016.
“Dr. Dobash is an excellent doctor, educator and individual,” said Thomas McGinley, MD. “His commitment to helping his patients and communities is outstanding, as is his teaching of residents and medical students. His support for marginalized populations sets an example for others. He is admired by his peers, patients and colleagues. It is a privilege to work with him.”
