Mercy Health Doctors Honored for Community Service

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two Mercy Health physicians were recently honored for their service to the Mahoning Valley.

Dr. James Kravec, chief clinical officer for Mercy Health Lorain and Youngstown, and Dr. Denise Bobovnyik, population health medical director for Mercy Health Youngstown, both received awards recognizing their commitment to their patients, the community and advancing the future of medicine.

“Mercy Health is proud to have leaders like Dr. Kravec and Dr. Bobovnyik caring for our patients and the broader Mahoning Valley community every day,” said Dr. John Luellen, president of Mercy Health Lorain and Youngstown. “Their dedication to the Valley is unmatched, as is their service to our communities. Dr. Kravec and Dr. Bobovnyik set the standard for current and future physicians.”

The Northeast Ohio Medical University Alumni Association honored Kravec, who is also Mercy Health’s system medical director of graduate medical education, with the Distinguished Service Award for his service and dedication to teaching, mentoring, volunteering and working with NEOMED.

“Quality education and training is integral to the future success of physicians. It is because of my strong education foundation that I am in a position to lead and help train the next generation of physicians, and I have NEOMED to thank for that,” Kravec said. “It’s an honor to receive this award from fellow alumni, and I look forward to continue working with NEOMED so that we can prepare our future doctors to provide compassionate, high-quality care to patients.”

Kravec is a past president of the NEOMED Alumni Association Board of Directors and was the NEOMED IM clerkship director from 2010 to 2013. He has been a CSA rater and judge at the annual NEOMED IM research day and was recognized by the NEOMED class of 2010 and 2013 as an outstanding faculty member. He chaired the general medicine section at NEOMED and has been a member of several NEOMED committees.

Kravec was instrumental in developing a partnership between Mercy Health and NEOMED, which assists students in loan forgiveness in exchange for service on the medical staff at Mercy Health facilities.

The Mahoning Valley Medical Society named Bobovnyik, who is also a physician at Mercy Health Canfield Primary Care and a graduate of NEOMED, the 2023 Distinguished Physician for her contributions to the profession, her patients and the community.

The Distinguished Physician Award was established in 1978 and is presented annually to a physician who is deemed to have made consequential contributions to Mahoning Valley medicine, both professionally and in practice with patients.

“What I love most about medicine is the relationships I have developed with my patients throughout my 35 years in practice. To care for multigenerational families over the years truly is the philosophy of family medicine,” Bobovnyik said. “I have also enjoyed being an advocate for physicians through the Mahoning Valley Medical Society. I am very humbled to be honored as the 2023 Distinguished Physician, joining a long line of phenomenal physicians at the MVMS.”

Bobovnyik began her tenure with the Mahoning Valley Medical Society in 1988 as a delegate to the Ohio State Medical Society, district councilor and alternate delegate to the American Medical Association. She is also a past president of the MVMS. 

Bobovnyik is also involved in the Ohio State Medical Association council and the Ohio Medical Political Action Committee board, where she has advanced her knowledge and support of political advocacy for Ohio physicians.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.