Alumnus blazes a trail for osteopathic medicine

By Nicholas Wood

Gloved and gowned under the fluorescent operating room lights Jeffrey Stanley, D.O., is filled with a sense of childlike wonder, even after forty years of practice.

“The operating room is like my sandbox,” he said.

Really, the sandbox is also an apt metaphor for his career as a whole: a career spent building opportunities from the ground up and helping redefine the landscape for D.O.s in Ohio. He was there for the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine’s early years as a member of the third class of students to come through the school and after graduating in 1982, remained a staunch advocate for the college. Stanley witnessed firsthand the school expand from a humble operation in the basement of Grosvenor Hall to an award winning, state-of-art medical facility in Athens and, later, to two regional campuses in Cleveland and Dublin. The opportunity to help mold the school is what initially drew him in.

“I had an offer to go to another place, but I kind of liked the excitement of being part of something new,” recalled Stanley. “And our class was a great class, we had a lot of fun together. It was a great time.”

While his childhood osteopathic primary care physician inspired him to pursue osteopathy, he found his calling in vascular surgery during a residency at Cleveland’s Brentwood Hospital. The connections he made through this experience (as well as his fine-tuned forceps skills) helped land him a fellowship at Lutheran Hospital, where he became the first D.O. to go through their coveted, historically allopathic program.

If you ask Stanley to elaborate on this accomplishment, however, he’ll humbly defer to his collaborators before claiming any credit.

“There's a lot of smart people out there, but you can't get to the finish line unless somebody or some place is helping you along the way,” he said. “For me, the school gave me that shot, the chief of surgery at Brentwood gave me that shot, and I owe them a lot because of that.”

This same humility is present as he reflects on his efforts leading the charge to establish the vascular surgery department at South Pointe hospital, where he spent the majority of his career practicing.

 “It’s about the people, on all levels. It’s about the relationships you develop—all of that,” he emphasized.

Throughout his career, this profound appreciation for others motivated him to pay it forward—which he did by mentoring residents at South Pointe hospital, serving as president of the Ohio Osteopathic Association, generously donating to new facilities and student resources at Heritage College, and connecting with medical students at the college as president of the alumni association. In addition to this, Stanley served as a member of OHIO’s Foundation Board (the first D.O. to hold such a position) where he contributed to philanthropic efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for all Ohio University students and faculty.

Today, Stanley still seeks opportunities to continue his legacy of service, though he’s also keen to let the next generation step up and lead the charge, carrying Heritage College, and the osteopathic profession, into a new era.

“It's very fulfilling to be able to build something and watch it grow, it's like your baby,” he said. “We worked hard for a lot of years and had a lot of fun along the way…now it’s time to see what the next generation will build.”