Meet Doctor John St. Angelo
June 17th, 2024
“The Community Care Center does an amazing job in helping patients who struggle with basic access to healthcare. I would wholeheartedly say the patients bless me more than I am able to bless them.”
“Growing up as a homeschooled farmer in Maryland, healthcare literacy and access was a challenge for my family. As the oldest of 5 children, I spent most of our time caring for our farm and helping with my younger siblings. A career in healthcare was the last thing on my mind.
As I continued my education, I discovered my background working with our crops and farm animals provided me with a natural aptitude for the sciences. I left for college with the intent on going to veterinary school, but along the way discovered my true calling was in treating people.
During the covid pandemic, I stepped away from medicine after experiencing severe burnout. The long hours spent away from my 3-year-old son, combined with the intense focus on metrics and billing tarnished my desire to practice medicine. I took a remote job as the chief medical editor for a German medical education company for a few years and focused on spending quality time with my family.
Eventually, I missed the face-to-face interaction with patients, and started considering clinical practice again. This is when I discovered the CCC and started volunteering as a provider. The patient centered care, open-ended appointments, and genuine human compassion of the staff was magnetic. I found myself volunteering more frequently, and ultimately was offered a role as a paid provider.
My love for the CCC and the patients continued to grow, and in October, I was offered the position of medical director. It was an honor to be asked to head such a wonderful organization that has served so many patients for so many years and is clearly having a profound impact on the local community. At the CCC, I’ve been given the opportunity to work alongside many other wonderful physicians across all specialties of medicine, and even to work alongside some of my mentors from residency. The CCC does an amazing job in helping patients who struggle with basic access to healthcare. I would wholeheartedly say the patients bless me more than I am able to bless them. Their constant gratitude and humility serve as a daily reminder of why this organization is so vital. Serving at the CCC is the embodiment of what I thought ‘being a doctor’ meant when I chose to go to medical school, and it has been the most fulfilling experience of my life. I look forward to work each morning, and plan to continue serving my community and those in need for as long as possible. I’m so grateful that the CCC has given me this opportunity.”
