Dr. Joe Rinella has joined the Community Home Health & Hospice (Community) team as Medical Director. Greg Pang, President & CEO said, “Dr. Rinella’s medical knowledge and compassion are a great fit for our organization, we are delighted to have him join our team.”
Rinella is board certified in family medicine and was previously a partner at NorthShore Medical Group where he served as their medical director. He practiced “full spectrum” family medicine—caring for patients of all ages including delivering babies, performing minor surgical procedures and taking care of hospitalized patients with complex illnesses. After working as an “old-fashioned” family medicine physician for 10 years, he started Nalea Enterprises, Inc. to provide independent medical contracting and consulting. In this capacity, he provided contracted services to the Skyline Hospital emergency department, Mount Hood Hospice, Pinnacle Hospice as well as Community. “I was impressed with the quality of care that Community provided to their patients and their patient’s families. So, when the medical director position opened up, I had to apply,” Rinella said.
“I developed an interest in hospice care even before I went to medical school. I witnessed the compassionate and dignified care a hospice team provided for one of my own family members,” Rinella said. Rinella earned his DO from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, his MS from Oregon State University and BS from Jacksonville University.
“My training as an osteopathic physician taught me to take a holistic approach to caring for my patients. I think that the best care is provided when we thoughtfully consider the patient’s physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional health as well as the social context of their family situation. The staff at Community Home Health & Hospice have been doing this for many years. They are ‘top notch’ and I am proud to become their medical director.”
Prior to medical school, Rinella worked as a whitewater raft guide. He loves to take his wife and four children on family adventures down the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. He also likes to travel and volunteers as Medical Director for Remember Nhu (a nonprofit organization working globally to prevent child sex-slavery).
