Are you struggling to find a primary care provider for your family? Dr. Armando Ricci and Dr. Beth Ann Callihan Ricci, a husband-and-wife team of family medicine specialists, are accepting new patients at Southeast Family Practice. Get to know a little about them here, and call 814-825-7440 to schedule an appointment.
Your situation is unique. What are the benefits of practicing at the same location?
Dr. Armando & Dr. Beth: It isn’t often you find a husband-and-wife medical team of the same specialty, practicing together. We’ve been practicing together at Southeast Family Practice for 12 years. Patients have a choice if they want to see a male physician or a female physician.
We get to grow with families and get to know them a bit more when we know the whole family unit. It is heartwarming and a privilege to care for patients from the time they are children through their adulthood and with children of their own.
We appreciate the unique challenges our patients face. We have the luxury of collaborating and sharing our medical knowledge and resources for the benefit of our patients with their consent.
Dr. Armando: If Dr. Beth is out of the office because she’s teaching at LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine), her patients have the option to see me.
What do you enjoy most about family medicine?
Dr. Beth: I enjoy the diversity of family practice. We see people of all ages who seek preventive care as well as treatment for a variety of medical issues. I really get to know the families, sometimes so well I can anticipate the answers to the questions I ask. This is especially true in families with many children. We get invested in their family and genuinely care. Sometimes little ones will climb up onto my lap while I am talking to the parent.
Dr. Armando: We get to educate patients on why they need preventative medicine and tests. Also, when a mother comes in and says her little child woke up with an earache and said, ‘I want to go see Dr. Ricci; he’ll make me better,’ that’s why we’re here. That’s the true connection, and it makes my day. I enjoy having a family unit as patients: I have had the honor of caring for four generations of the same family unit. That is true family medicine.
Do you enjoy teaching family medicine?
Dr. Beth: I teach lectures and labs in the osteopathic manipulative medicine department for an average of 12 hours a week at LECOM for first- and second-year students. This is a personal interest area of mine. I also precept third- and fourth-year students and residents.
Dr. Armando: I teach third- and fourth-year family medicine students and residents here in the office, so students have the opportunity to see family medicine patients — from small children to the elderly population. Having medical students in the office helps us to educate the patient. For example, a student may emphasize information I had previously given to the patient, which reinforces the recommendation. It is also an opportunity for patients to help us train the medical students. Patients become part of the teaching process.
How did you meet?
Dr. Beth: We met at Millcreek Community Hospital. He was an intern, and I was a medical student.