Emergency Medicine Residency - Leadership and Faculty

Meet WellSpan York Hospital's emergency medicine education team

Message from Department of Emergency Medicine Chair

We’re proud to offer a premier emergency medicine training experience that emphasizes clinical and academic excellence in a setting and work environment that supports a high quality of life.

I came to WellSpan York Hospital after spending 16 years working clinically and administratively in New York City hospitals. I was drawn to its remarkably high-volume, high-acuity academic emergency department (ED) based in a specialty teaching hospital practicing cutting-edge medicine in a region that is stunningly beautiful, remarkably affordable and centrally located.

Our department has fellowship-trained faculty and national leaders in disaster medicine, forensic medicine, toxicology, EMS, research, ultrasound, medical education and wilderness medicine. Specialty tracks and a focus on resident education allow our faculty to pass on their expertise and passion to our residents. We’re also home to ultrasound and medical education fellowships, and we lead the system’s simulation center.

In addition to our clinical staff, our department has embedded pharmacists, case managers, physical therapists, behavioral health counselors and additional ancillary services. These specialties allow us to approach our ED patients holistically to not only address medical and surgical emergencies, but also identify and address social determinants of health. A full-time coordinator also supports our research division.

Thank you for considering WellSpan York Hospital for your residency training. Please reach out to any of our department’s members if we can assist you in your residency selection process.

Jeffrey Lazar, MD, MPH

Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine

WellSpan York Hospital

System Co-Medical Director

EM Division, WellSpan Health

WellSpan Emergency Medicine Residency Leadership Team

Jeffrey Lazar, MD, MPH

Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, WellSpan York Hospital and Emergency Medicine Division Co-Director, WellSpan Health

Undergraduate: Binghamton University

Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine

Graduate School: Tufts University School of Medicine

Residency: Yale New Haven Health (Yale New Haven Hospital)

More about me: I studied literature and modern American poetry before pursuing medicine.

Interests: administration, quality improvement, patient safety, physician wellness, narrative medicine

Hobbies: hiking, mountaineering, metal sculpture, botany, special needs animals

Jessica Riley, MD, FACEP

Jessica Riley

Vice Chair

Undergraduate: Penn State University

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine

Residency: George Washington University

More about me: I grew up not too far from York, so I knew I wanted to come back to the area after residency. Working at WellSpan York Hospital has given me so many opportunities to teach and work with fantastic people. I live in York with my husband and three kids and think it is a great place to be.

Interests: ED quality improvement, palliative care education for EM, evidence-based medicine

Amber Billet, MD, FACEP

Amber Billet

Residency Program Director, Associate Chair of Education; Medical Education fellowship director

Medical School: St. George’s University

Residency: Maimonides Medical Center

Post-Residency Training: Medical Education at ChristianaCare Health System

I joined the team at WellSpan in 2017 as an assistant program director and have been the program director since 2019. I’m the first female program director in the history of the program and have a strong sense of pride in our residency program and our ED. The residents and attendings here are real people. We all have busy lives outside work and respect one another. Professionally, we all work extremely hard to prioritize excellent resident education and provide exceptional patient care. I’m confident that I’ll retire from this organization.

Interests: Medical education, resident curriculum, in-training preparation, cognitive bias, resident resilience, faculty development

Joel Atwood, MD, FACEP, FACP

Joel Atwood

Assistant Residency Program Director

Medical School: University of Maryland School of Medicine

Residency: ChristianaCare (emergency medicine and internal medicine)

I graduated from medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2013. Afterward, I completed a combined emergency medicine and internal medicine residency at ChristianaCare Health System. I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to join WellSpan as a clinical faculty member in the ED and academic hospitalist department in 2018. In early 2020, I joined the emergency residency leadership team as an assistant program director.

Interests: medical education, intersection of emergency medicine and hospitalist medicine, emergency cardiology QI, undergraduate premed advising

Joel Robert Clontz, MD, FAAEM, FACEP

Joel Robert Clontz

Assistant Program Director

Undergraduate: Gettysburg College

Medical School: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)

Graduate School: USUHS

Internship: Wright State University–General Surgery Residency Program

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

Academic Appointment: Assistant Professor of Military/Emergency Medicine at F. Edward Herbert School of Medicine, USUHS

I am originally from the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area. I joined the U.S. Air Force in 2004, when I started medical school. My time in the Air Force provided me numerous opportunities to travel and see the world. After finishing my commitment, I decided to return to York to be close to home and focus on teaching. I feel privileged to have found such a wonderful group of colleagues committed to education and providing excellent care in a high-acuity ED.

Interests: emergency radiology, oral boards, wilderness medicine

Lorie Piccoli, MD

Assistant Residency Program Director

Undergraduate: University of Maryland Baltimore County

Medical School: University of Health Sciences Antigua

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

I started my residency at WellSpan in 2010 and stayed on as an attending. What I enjoy most about working in our ED is the sense of teamwork that we have. All staff — nurses, techs, residents and attendings — work together and show each other mutual respect. The team feels like family. I also enjoy the diverse patient populations and the opportunity for the residents to obtain experience in many procedures. I love seeing the residents’ hard work pay off and seeing the transition from intern to new attending. Knowing that they’re well qualified to practice in any ED is most rewarding.

Interests: pediatrics, teaching and engaging residents

WellSpan Emergency Medicine Residency

Faculty

Current Position: Co-Director of Resident Ultrasound Education

Residency: Missing

Fellowship: WellSpan York Hospital

Current Position: Co-Director of Ultrasound Education

Undergraduate: Temple University

Medical School: Drexel University College of Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

Current Position: Director of Medical Student Ultrasound Education

Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital (emergency medicine)

Fellowship: WellSpan York Hospital (emergency medicine)

Current Position: Director, Division of Medical Toxicology; Core Faculty, Emergency Medicine

Undergraduate: Newman University

Medical School: Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Memorial Hospital, York, PA

Post-Residency Training: Medical Toxicology Fellowship, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

I joined WellSpan in 2016 after I finished my fellowship. I joined because I got a sense of community from the staff during my interview, and this feeling has held true since starting here. Everyone here has been supportive. I enjoy being able to teach residents, students and nursing staff. I like the balance of time in the ED and doing consultations. In my time off, I like to travel to new places.

Interests: toxicology, addiction medicine

Current Position: Director, Division of Point-of-Care Ultrasound; Core Faculty, Department of Emergency Medicine

Undergraduate: The Evergreen State College

Medical School: Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

Post-Residency Training: WellSpan York Hospital Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship

I completed my medical school training at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. I completed my residency training at the WellSpan York Hospital emergency medicine residency program, serving as chief resident and winning the Resident Researcher of the Year award. I went on to complete an emergency medicine ultrasound fellowship at WellSpan York Hospital and subsequently joined the faculty as assistant ultrasound director at the conclusion of my fellowship in 2018. I took over as director of the section of emergency medicine ultrasound and ultrasound fellowship director in 2019.

Interests: ultrasound procedures, ultrasound education

Current Position: Attending Physician, Medical Student Clerkship Director

Undergraduate: Penn State University

Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Memorial Hospital (UPMC Pinnacle)

Current Position: Ultrasound Fellowship Director

Undergraduate: Messiah College

Medical School: Thomas Jefferson University, Sidney Kimmel Medical College

Residency: ChristianaCare Emergency Medicine

Post-Residency Training: ChristianaCare Emergency Ultrasound

Dr. Daniel Kreider joined the WellSpan staff in August 2020. He attended medical school at Thomas Jefferson University and completed his emergency medicine residency at ChristianaCare where he served as chief resident for the class of 2019. He also completed his fellowship in emergency medicine ultrasound at ChristianaCare in 2020.

Interests: bedside teaching, ultrasound guided procedures and emergency ultrasound education

Current Position: Core Faculty, Department of Emergency Medicine; Physician Liaison for Continuing Medical Education

Undergraduate: SUNY Geneseo

Medical School: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Residency: Jacobi/Montefiore Emergency Medicine Residency Program

Academic Appointment: Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Penn State College of Medicine

I joined WellSpan in 2015 after working in community emergency medicine for two years. I love practicing medicine in a community setting that prioritizes education and patient-centered care. Being able to teach at the bedside and watch residents grow into excellent physicians keeps me going day-to-day. I am constantly surprised by the breadth and depth of pathology I see at York Hospital.

Interests: medical education, faculty development

Current Position: Director of Quality and Compliance; EMS Rotation Coordinator

Undergraduate: Johns Hopkins University

Medical School: Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Residency: Transitional Intern, Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, VA; EM/IM Residency, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit

Post-Residency Training: EMS/Disaster Fellowship, George Washington University; District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department

After graduating from medical school at Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, I served four years in the U.S. Navy starting a transitional internship and three years as a flight surgeon. I then completed a combined emergency and internal medicine residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and currently hold two board certifications. My education continued with a one-year fellowship in emergency and disaster medicine at George Washington University and the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department. Now I represent the department on the hospital sepsis committee. Of all my roles, I enjoy clinical education the most.

Interests: stroke, sepsis, EMS

Current Position: Medical Command Facility Medical Director, Medical Director, EMS Agencies

Undergraduate: Ursinus College

Medical School: Penn State College of Medicine

Residency: Geisinger Medical Center

Academic Appointment: Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Penn State College of Medicine

I serve as the director of prehospital services and the medical director for emergency medical services agencies. A graduate of Ursinus College and the Penn State College of Medicine, I completed my residency in emergency medicine at the Geisinger Medical Center in 1987. Prior to coming to York in 1991, I was a U.S. Air Force officer, serving as the chief of emergency services at Sheppard Technical Training Center Hospital in Texas. I completed the EMF/ACEP teaching fellowship and now coordinate the EMS component of our curriculum.

I am both WellSpan York Hospital's medical command facility medical director and the scheduling physician for attending physicians. Actively involved with EMS on the regional and state levels, I am an instructor in ATLS. Additionally, I’m on the WellSpan York Hospital board of directors and was interim vice chair of the emergency medicine department from December 2019 through August 2020.

Interests: EMS, disaster medicine and physician scheduling

Current Position: Medical Director, Disaster Preparedness and Response; Director, Division of Disaster Medicine and Emergency Management

Undergraduate: Amherst College

Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital (chief resident)

Post-Residency Training: Disaster Medicine and Emergency Management Fellowship, UMass Memorial Medical Center; EMS Medicine Board Certified

Academic Appointment: Clinical Assistant Professor at Drexel University College of Medicine; Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor at Penn State College of Medicine

I am the director of the division of disaster medicine and emergency management at WellSpan York Hospital and medical director for disaster preparedness and response for WellSpan Health. I also serve as director of the WellSpan disaster medicine and emergency preparedness training center. Having served on several disaster preparedness committees and task forces at the local, regional and national levels, I have been involved in multisystem training exercises at the regional level, coordinated major sporting events and lectured before military medic units. I currently serve as chairman of the York-Adams metropolitan medical response system, sit on the regional interoperative disaster preparedness committee for York-Adams counties and am an active member of the South Central Task Force.

Interests: disaster medicine, healthcare resiliency, business continuity, system development and resource management

Current Position: Research Director

Undergraduate: University of Maryland

Medical School: University of Maryland School of Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

Post-Residency Training: Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship, University of California Irvine

I was happy to return to WellSpan as faculty after completing my emergency ultrasound fellowship in 2011. I’ve served as research director for the department of emergency medicine since 2016, and I am closely involved in clinical trials, departmental research and ultrasound education. I feel privileged to work alongside our fun and collaborative group of physicians in the busy, high-acuity WellSpan York Hospital ED.

Interests: ultrasound, biostatistics, chest pain, clinical decision rules, infectious disease, venous thromboembolism

Current Position: Attending Physician

Undergraduate: University of Buffalo

Medical School: Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

Residency: University of Pittsburgh

Current Position: Clinical Faculty

Interests: teaching, medical education and novel methods of content delivery

Current Position: Clinical Faculty; Member of Multidisciplinary Peer Review Committee

Undergraduate: Williams College

Medical School: Drexel University

Residency: Georgetown University/Washington Hospital Center

I joined WellSpan in 2017 straight from residency. The hybrid community/academic setting here is wonderful for resident education and as a work environment. I enjoy being part of an organization that provides a great service to the local community.

Interests: peer review/quality, medical education, work life balance

Current Position: Co-Director, Center for Global Health Education, York Hospital

Undergraduate: Duke University

Medical School: University of Virginia School of Medicine

Residency: The Ohio State University

I grew up in West Virginia and attended college at Duke University, earning a degree in biomedical engineering. After completing my undergraduate studies, I volunteered as a high school math and science teacher in South Africa, leading to a lifelong interest in global development. Attending medical school at the University of Virginia, I was awarded the dean's geographic medicine scholarship, allowing me to pursue clinical rotations in Kenya and Ghana.

After a year of general surgery at Maine Medical Center, I completed a residency in emergency medicine at Ohio State. I’ve been working as clinical faculty in the department of emergency medicine at WellSpan York Hospital since July of 2012. I am looking forward to expanding the reach of global health at WellSpan and increasing the opportunities for residents to work clinically in underserved communities abroad.

Interests: global health

Current Position: Medical Director, Forensic Examiner Team

Undergraduate: Penn State University

Medical School: Penn State/Hershey College of Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

I have been at WellSpan since 2001 because I enjoy working with residents and with the forensic examiner team. In my free time, I’m a senior editor for PEER and enjoy spending time with my family, pets and horses.

Interests: clinical forensic medicine, medical writing and editing

Current Position: System EMS Medical Director, WellSpan Health

Medical School: New York Institute of Technology

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

Fellowship: EMS at Penn State Hershey (We Are!)

Academic Appointment: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Penn State University

Other: Medical Team Manager, FEMA Urban Search and Rescue, PA Task Force 1

After EMS fellowship training, I served as medical director for the Penn State Life Lion critical care transport program. When WellSpan started a health system-based EMS program and I was fortunate to be offered the medical director position, it was time to return home to WellSpan.

Interests: EMS, critical care transport, urban search and rescue, prehospital airway management, EMS research, public health and disaster medicine intersections, subspecialty GME, prehospital QA/QI, health system administration

Hobbies: travel, hiking, gardening, cooking

Current Position: Clinical Faculty

Undergraduate: Emory University School of Medicine

Medical School: Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital Emergency Medicine

Interests: managing the difficult airway

Current Position: Clinical Faculty

Undergraduate: Dartmouth College

Medical School: UMass Chan Medical School

Residency: Medical College of Georgia

After receiving my undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and medical degree from the University of Massachusetts, I did a transitional year internship at UCSF–Fresno before completing an emergency medicine residency at the Medical College of Georgia in 2000. For several years, I worked at Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore in a busy community hospital setting before joining the staff at WellSpan York Hospital in May 2019.

I bring an outside perspective from academic medicine to the program, as well as interests in wilderness medicine and a multitude of experiences that come from traveling and being outdoors.

Interests: wilderness medicine

Current Position: Director of Clinical Informatics

Undergraduate: Franklin & Marshall College

Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital Emergency Medicine

I was fortunate to do my residency at WellSpan. After a few years in the community in Maryland building my own practice style, I was lucky enough to return to York. I enjoy working clinically with our residents in our fast-paced, high-acuity ED. Our team-based environment is paramount in treating the sickest patients of York County.

Interests: Epic, physician builder, education through simulation, procedural competency

Hobbies: spending time with my family, which includes my wife, two young sons and three dogs

Current Position: Clinical Faculty

Undergraduate: Grove City College

Graduate School: Johns Hopkins University

Medical School: Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

I have two degrees in electrical engineering and worked in missile defense and information technology prior to medical school. I have been married since 2007.

Interests: bedside medical education, procedural skills, resuscitation, work/life balance

Current Position: Attending Physician

Undergraduate: Campbell University

Medical School: Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Lehigh Valley Health Network (EM)

Fellowship: University of Virginia School of Medicine (medical toxicology)

Interests: medical toxicology

Hobbies: hiking, jiu jitsu and playing with my dog

Current Position: Attending Physician

Medical School: Ruprecht-Karls-University

Medical School: Heidelberg Medical School

Internship: Klinikum Waldhof-Elgershausen (internal medicine)

Residency: Dr. U.H. Grueske (internal medicine)

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital GME (EM)

Current Position: Attending Physician

Undergraduate: Bob Jones University

Medical School: USC School of Medicine Greenville

Residency: ChristianaCare Health System (EM)

Current Position: Split EM/CCM attending, junior faculty

Undergraduate: State University of New York at Binghamton

Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Seton Hill Campus

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital

Post-Residency Training: University of Pittsburgh Adult Critical Care Medicine

I'm from New York originally and became a Pennsylvania transplant circa 2009. I started in EMS in the New York then Pittsburgh areas, and I thankfully met many people who supported me and my interest in emergency medicine and critical care medicine. I came back to York for the supportive environment as well as a place where I could use all of my skills as an ED attending and critical care physician in multiple specialties. I hope to instill a sense of pride in what we do, support for patients and their families and the satisfaction of making a difference as a physician in whatever way we can.

Interests: patient safety, post intensive care syndrome, early mobility in ICU

Hobbies: reading (nonmedical), caffeine and exploring restaurants/good eats

Current Position: Attending Physician

Undergraduate: Penn State University

Post Graduate Education: Duquesne University

Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Memorial Hospital, York (EM)

After my residency at Memorial Hospital in York, Pennsylvania, I stayed there as a member of the core faculty. I joined WellSpan in July 2018 and am board certified in emergency medicine.

Current Position: Director of Simulation

Undergraduate: Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College

Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: WellSpan York Hospital (EM)

Current Position: Attending Physician

Undergraduate: Oklahoma State University

Medical School: Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Stanford University (EM)

I served 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a flight surgeon. My areas of expertise are emergency, aerospace, wilderness and tactical medicine. Outside work, I enjoy outdoor sports, travel and adventures with my family. I coach local youth lacrosse, and train EMS, police, military, firefighters and first responders on tactical and austere medicine and lifesaving techniques.

Interests: emergency, aerospace, wilderness and tactical medicine

Current Position: Clinical Faculty

Undergraduate: Liberty University

Medical School: Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Residency: Riverside Regional Medical Center, Newport News

More about me: I had a previous career as a pipe organ tuner.

Interests: medical education, global medicine and sports medicine

Hobbies: traveling, music, baking, theater arts, camping and spending time with friends and family

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Emergency Medicine Residency - Leadership and Faculty

Meet WellSpan York Hospital's emergency medicine education team