Last month, Dr. Jessica Gallagher, M.D., joined Dr. Donald Gronbeck at Yellow Springs Primary Care, where she specializes in family medicine. Yellow Springs Primary Care is an independent primary care provider that opened in May 2014. (Photo by Anne Day)
New family doctor joins practice
- Published: October 4, 2018
By Anne Day
In the effort to serve more patients from in and around the village, a local medical office has added a new doctor.
Dr. Jessica Gallagher, M.D., has joined Dr. Donald Gronbeck at Yellow Springs Primary Care, a popular independent practice he started at 888 Dayton Street in 2014. Gallagher arrived just last month, and specializes in family medicine.
While she calls Centerville home, a personal connection brought Gallagher to the Yellow Springs practice. She knows Gronbeck’s wife, who suggested that she check out her husband’s office.
“I watched Dr. Gronbeck work with his patients, liked how the office was run — and that was that,” she said. “I was very impressed.”
When asked what she values most about being a medical doctor, she replied that she likes talking to people and solving problems. Gallagher further commented that she always knew that she wanted to go into family medicine.
“It’s never the same day when it comes to family practice. I get to meet many different needs of my patients, from CPR to toe injuries. I also wanted a better, more balanced quality of life, which you can’t always have with other medical specialties.”
Gallagher said that she enjoys treating her patients, who mostly come from Yellow Springs and Fairborn, working to balance modern medicine with some of the “nontraditional” approaches her patients might choose when it comes to taking control of their health.
“Some, particularly my patients from Yellow Springs, are into alternative medicines, such as homeopathic therapies and herbal remedies,” she said. “My job is to make sure they are not doing anything too far off the grid.”
While Gallagher treats the entire family, she practices in the area of women’s health as well.
“I have often been the one, or one of very few woman doctors where I have practiced, so I found myself working in that field,” she said.
In addition, Gallagher is fond of sports medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine, which is the straightening of bones.
A native Ohioan originally from the Cincinnati area, Gallagher attended The Ohio State University for her undergraduate education, and majored in biology. She later graduated with her M.D. from The Ohio State College of Medicine. Her training included the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program in Dayton, and the Clinton Memorial Residency Program in Wilmington.
Gallagher went on to practice at the Dayton VA Medical Center, where she worked with young people returning from the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. She has also practiced at East Dayton Health Center, part of the nonprofit organization Community Health Centers of Greater Dayton.
When she is not busy treating her patients, Gallagher spends time at home with her husband, Kevin, and their 13-year-old son, Caleb.
Yellow Springs Primary Care is welcoming new patients.
*Anne Day is a local writer.
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