Conemaugh Health System Retains Seven Graduating Residents

As Conemaugh Graduate Medical Education residents graduate from their formal residency program this month, seven physicians have committed to stay within Conemaugh Health System to practice locally. This year’s group of returning residents ranks among the highest totals in the residency program’s history.

“As a teaching hospital, we are proud of our commitment to educating future generations of physicians and providing a variety of rigorous clinical experiences to complement their academic training,” said Richard Wozniak, MD, Director of Graduate Medical Education. “This year, we are particularly pleased that many of our graduates from this deep talent pipeline have decided to stay within our health system to treat and care for our patients locally, while making our community healthier.”

Beginning on July 1, the following graduating residents will begin their new assignments:

• Mario DeYulis, DO joins the Emergency Medicine Department at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. Dr. DeYulis completed his medical education at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Ebensburg native and Central Cambria graduate participated in Conemaugh Health System’s Mentoring in Medicine program while an undergraduate student at Juniata College.


• Doug Pazehoski, DO joins the Emergency Medicine Department at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Pazehoski completed his medical education at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton Hill. The Greensburg native completed his undergraduate education at the University of Pittsburgh.


• Colton Rishor-Olney, DO joins the Emergency Medicine Department at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Rishor-Olney completed his medical education at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Wash.


• Jason Burmeister, MD joins the Family Medicine faculty at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center’s Graduate Medical Education program and will practice at Conemaugh Physician Group –Family Medical Center. Dr. Burmeister completed his medical education at St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada. He completed post-baccalaureate work at Columbia University and earned his master’s degree in psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York.


• Choodamani Aryal, MD will join the Conemaugh Physician Group – Family Medicine and practice primary care in Cresson (815 2nd Street, Cresson). Dr. Aryal completed his medical education at Kathmandu Medical College in Nepal.


• Joseph Pietropaoli, MD will return to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center on July 1 to practice emergency medicine, sports medicine, and orthopedics. Dr. Pietropaoli completed his medical education at Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica and his residency in emergency
medicine at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. He recently completed a primary care sports medicine fellowship at Geisinger. Dr. Pietropaoli earned a master’s degree in health science at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.


Additionally, Jennifer Silvis, DO will return to health system on October 1 specializing in Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Silvis completed her medical education at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and her residency in general surgery at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. She will complete a fellowship in acute care surgery with a special focus in surgical critical care, trauma surgery, and emergency surgery at the University of Connecticut, Hartford Hospital in August. She is a Beaver County native, a Sidman resident, and an alumnus of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Silvis has served honorably in the United States Air Force since 2003, and currently has dual assignments as a flight surgeon and general surgeon for Critical Care Air Transport. As a medic in the Air Force, Dr. Silvis completed combat tours of duty to Afghanistan and Iraq, and was awarded the prestigious John M. Templeton Jr. Military Call to Service Scholarship in 2018 while a resident at the hospital.