Dr. Shoff Now Providing Emergency Department Services

In April 2007, Dr. Fred Shoff, D.O. joined the medical staff and began providing services in the Emergency Department at Barnesville Hospital. Prior to joining the Barnesville staff, Dr. Shoff worked as the medical advisor at the Veterans Administration medical complex in St. Clairsville providing and overseeing patient care at the complex.

Dr. Shoff is no stranger to medicine. With a career that began working as an orderly in a tuberculosis sanitarium over 40 years ago while in high school, Dr. Shoff has seen many advances take place in the field of medicine. "Probably the most advancement I have seen in medicine has been with surgery and information technology," states Dr. Shoff. "When I first started out, the general surgeon performed all surgeries. Now there are many sub-specialty surgeons." Dr. Shoff also talked about how technology has improved patient care by improving the accuracy of test results. "When I worked as a medical technologist, we had to draw up the chemicals by hand in a pipette. Now that is all done by computers in the lab."

Born and raised in the Youngstown, Ohio area, Dr. Shoff turned down a congressional approval to attend the United States Air Force Academy following high school and decided to enlist in the Army in 1968 after his freshman year at Youngstown State University. Dr. Shoff jokingly said, "My draft number was 15 so I decided to enlist before being drafted so I could pick what I wanted to do in the Army. I always wanted to work in medicine and the Army had a Medical Laboratory Specialist training program at the time." After the Army, Dr. Shoff worked as a truck driver and then a production inspector for General Motors before returning to Youngstown State and graduating in 1975 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology and Chemistry. After college, he worked as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at Warren General Hospital in Warren, Ohio.

In 1980, Dr. Shoff decided to follow his childhood dream and become a doctor by enrolling into the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, Ohio. "I always knew since I was a teenager I wanted to be a doctor," states Shoff. "I always really enjoyed taking care of people and still do."

Today Dr. Shoff resides on a farm in Jerusalem with his wife Debbie and three children Becky, Beth and Steve. He enjoys raising livestock, golfing and spending time with his family.