From Teen Volunteer to UH Parma CMO: Still Serving ED Patients
October 27, 2025
UH Clinical Update | October 2025
Chris Dussel, MDThe professional path of Chris Dussel, MD, underscores the power of introducing teens to healthcare careers early in life.
Growing up on a century-old farm in Brimfield Township, young Chris’s teenage years were anything but idle. With hundreds of livestock to help tend, his days began and ended with chores. Playing school sports was not an option, he says, which he understood. Dr. Dussel credits his father and grandfather for instilling a strong work ethic and for consistently encouraging him to further his education.
But amid the demands of the family farm, a spark was lit — thanks in part to his aunt Patty, who was a nurse in the emergency department at Portage County’s hospital (now UH Portage Medical Center).
“I loved volunteering in the ED,” Dr. Dussel recalls. “My job was to transport patients from the waiting room to the exam area.
“That’s when I really got interested in medicine.”
His curiosity deepened when he discovered Portage County’s “pre-professional” medical academy, a program offered through Maplewood Joint Vocational School to engage high school students in health care. By 10th grade, he was shadowing ER teams, observing surgeries, and rotating through outpatient departments.
“It was always something different,” he says. “My advisor was fantastic — she really encouraged me to pursue medicine.”
In 11th grade, Dussel’s father took him to an open house at nearby NEOMED (Northeastern Ohio School of Medicine) in Rootstown. He recalls his father winning a prize for answering a trivia question correctly. “He was the first one to answer the questions correctly about what the NEOMED land was before it was a school — a farm.” “He still has that NEOMED hat,” Dussel joked. The school offered a combined accelerated college and medical program designed to train physicians who were likely to remain in Northeast Ohio.
Dussel applied in 11th grade, was accepted the following year, and on his way to becoming a physician.
After medical school, residency, and further training — including time at Akron City Hospital — he returned to UH Portage Medical Center to work in the ED. It was as intense as he remembered, but he now had a more vital role.
Then in 2019, he was asked to temporarily fill in as the ER Medical Director at UH Parma Medical Center while the sitting director took a short leave. That “temporary” role led to Dr. Dussel becoming he Associate Chief Medical Officer and now Chief Medical Officer, since 2022. Yet despite his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Dussel still works three to four shifts a month in the UH Parma ED.
“I still love working in the ED, and I hope I always do,” he says. “I have a hard time sitting still. I love the pace, the quick connections, and the chance to help someone through what might be the worst day of their life.”
After tough shifts, he reminds his team: “If you leave knowing you helped even one person —that’s a win.”
To decompress, Dr. Dussel turns to exercise and conversation. “During my commute, I talk to friends — most of them are ER docs. It’s talk therapy,” he says. “I’ll run cases by colleagues or chat with friends I’ve known since elementary school, med school, or residency.”
When a shift is especially tough, he leans on his network. “I’ll run cases by colleagues or chat with friends.”
At home, he shifts gears. He and his wife are raising four sons who help out on the family’s 300+ acres after school and on weekends — just as he did. These days, the farm produces grain and livestock feed instead of raising animals, but the rhythm of seasonal outdoor work remains a grounding force.
Given what he sees in the emergency department, Dr. Dussel admits it’s shaped how he parents. “I admit, I won’t let them play football,” he says. While he knows no sport is entirely risk-free, he’s treated young athletes who’ve gone into cardiac arrest or suffered serious injuries — like the high school baseball player struck in the chest by a fastball.
Recently, Dr. Dussel received a Dinner with the Doc honor, for which he was nominated by James L. Hill, MD, Chief Operating Officer of UH Parma Medical Center.
“His decisions are guided by integrity, compassion, and a strong moral compass,” wrote Dr. Hill. “In a field where split-second decisions are the norm, Dr. Dussel consistently brings a calm, thoughtful approach rooted in fairness and respect. His empathy is felt by both patients and staff alike.”
Education is a true calling for Dr. Dussel, Dr. Hill added. “He has a gift for connecting with medical students and residents, not only to teach clinical acumen, but to shape their understanding of what it truly means to be a physician.
“His efforts are grounded in real-world experience and cultural humility, emphasizing the importance of treating every patient with the dignity and personalization they deserve. He instills the idea that medicine is not just a science, but a human practice.”
Congratulations to Dr. Dussel on his “Dinner with the Doc” honor.