Career Twist Turned Ostroff into a Flu Fighter
When he first started out in medicine, Stephen Ostroff, MD, had no idea that he would be one of Pennsylvania’s most prominent physician faces during an influenza pandemic.
“I thought I would be a primary care physician,” says Dr. Ostroff, Pennsylvania’s acting physician general and the director of the state Department of Health’s Bureau of Epidemiology.
So, what got him here? A little island called Pohnpei.
To pay back his National Health Service corps scholarship after his residency, Dr. Ostroff was assigned to work on the remote Micronesian island, where his interest in public health began to develop.
“Remote islands are very interesting places for someone who studies epidemiology, particularly someone who does investigation and control of disease outbreaks,” Dr. Ostroff explains.
That led to a two-decade stint at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and then working for the state of Pennsylvania.
During the H1N1 outbreak, Dr. Ostroff has been reminded that you should never underestimate a virus.
“We were anticipating, preparing for, and expecting H5N1 to be the virus to worry about, not H1N1. It’s yet another reminder that flexibility and adaptability are really key,” says Dr. Ostroff.
Visit our H1N1 flu page to learn more and sign up for our monthly flu update.
Last Updated: 12/17/2009