Dr. Pamela J. Oatis, 2011 Ohio Pediatrician of the Year

Pamela J. Oatis, MD, has been a pediatrician for more than 30 years, serving families in north west Ohio. In addition to hospital and outpatient care, Dr. Oatis obtained local and federal grant funding over a number of years to develop a Family Care Team serving children in Ohio with complex illness.

Under Dr. Oatis’ leadership, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Health, Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH) and Family Voices of Ohio was awarded a federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) three-year grant for the statewide implementation of services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN). Under this grant, she trained over 700 Public Health Nurses, Early Intervention workers, and Head Start Teachers in Listening with Connection and other Listening Tools, to improve the quality of support they can offer to children with special health needs and their families. The trainings have been well received and there is discussion at the state about continuation of the trainings at the end of the grant funding.  Read more.

Dr. Oatis was named the American Academy of Pediatrics Ohio Chapter Pediatrician of the Year in 2011-12, and the March of Dimes Physician of the Year in 2013. She has won numerous awards for research excellence, and was chosen to participate in the Harvard Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice at Harvard University in 2008/9.

Dr. Oatis is a Certified Hand in Hand Instructor, and raised her two grown sons using this parenting approach.  She is married, lives in Dundee, Michigan, and is a world-ranked senior triathlete.