Podiatric surgeon Anthony Colonna is now accepting patients at the Clymer Rural Health Clinic, where he recently began working. Submitted photo

CLYMER — Clymer Rural Health Clinic of LECOM has welcomed Anthony Colonna as a podiatric surgeon.

Growing up, Colonna said he was inspired to go into medicine by his uncle.

“My uncle was a physician and, growing up, I saw him and how he treated people and how he was treated by the community,” Colonna said. “People came to him for advice, and that’s what inspired me to become a doctor. I went through a few different paths, including dentistry, which I decided I didn’t like, before I ended up at LECOM.”

Once at LECOM, Colonna shadowed a podiatric surgeon, and his love for the specialty grew from there. His interest was also piqued because there are not many schools in the United States for the specific specialty, but there is a high demand for it. Colonna added that as a podiatric surgeon he is able to do any orthopedic procedure on the leg that falls below the knee. There is a large variety of procedures he is able to do, including basically any foot or ankle related service such as diabetic exams, diabetic toe care, warts, bunions, flat foot, and minimally invasive surgeries — something Colonna said he focuses on, adding that these surgeries involve working through making smaller holes in the body instead of opening a patient up.

Colonna ended up working at the Clymer clinic to fill a need.

“The LECOM clinic in Corry was very busy and in order to decompress that office and to serve the rural community in Clymer I came here,” Colonna said.

Colonna is at the Clymer Rural Health Clinic on Thursdays from around 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Colonna is married with two young sons. The family lives in Erie, Pa., and he said they enjoy local activities such as golfing, the peninsula and going to the Peek n’ Peak resort.

Professionally, Colonna is also double board certified through both the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery and the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. He also teaches at the LECOM school of Podiatric Medicine, which is a new school that just recently opened. He is one of the only double board certified surgeons for podiatrics in the area, and also is one of the only surgeons around that does mainly minimally invasive surgeries, which Colonna said was a big draw for patients.

“My main thing that I focus on is providing the most up to date care for lower extremity needs, whether that is surgery or anything else,” Colonna said.

Colonna is also residency director at LECOM, with nine residents under his teaching.

When it comes to working at Clymer Rural Health Clinic, Colonna said he wants to work to help the community.

“Erin Rodriguez has built the practice up extensively,” he said. “I want to build something that is state of the art and to do my best for the community. Having this service in the community also allows them to have less of a drive and lets them get it right at home.”

Colonna is now accepting patients at the Clymer Rural Health Clinic. Located at 354 Clymer-Corry Road, the Clymer Rural Health Clinic can be reached at 716-355-2248.