Meet the Director and Team

Welcome from the Program Director

Thank you for your interest the Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital/NEOMED General Surgery Residency Program. Our program prides itself in training excellent surgeons who graduate ready to begin independent surgical practice or enter highly competitive fellowship programs.

The educational experience at St. E’s is exceptional. The case volume and variety are tremendous for a community our size. Our residents finish with outstanding technical skills and sound clinical judgement. The clinical rotations are well-organized and include both inpatient and outpatient care. Our curriculum is highly structured, and didactic time is strictly protected from patient care responsibilities. Conferences are prepared and presented by a mix of both faculty and residents. Our website provides more detail about the curriculum and rotations.

Our program requires resident research. Each resident must complete at least one project of publishable quality prior to graduation. Most projects are presented at regional or national meetings. Several manuscripts have been accepted for publication as well. We have dedicated research coordinators who are experienced in all aspects of performing surgical research. However, there is no required research time.

Our faculty members are a diverse group of experienced surgical educators and genuinely enjoy teaching. Many are fellowship trained, while several are alumni of our program. Faculty members are directly engaged in patient care and offer outstanding resident support and mentorship. They appreciate the balance between progressive resident autonomy and appropriate supervision. Each residency class has an assigned faculty counselor who meets with them on a regular basis to discuss clinical and academic performance, work-life balance, scholarly activity and career goals.

We are serious and deliberate about resident and faculty well-being. We enjoy wonderful, genuine camaraderie amongst both faculty and residents. When times are tough, our institution provides confidential support services to any resident who needs help – mental health, family struggles, legal assistance, financial difficulties, etc. Best of all, amidst the chaos and stress of surgical residency, we ensure that we have fun too! We regularly schedule special social events throughout the academic year. Some of our favorites have been our formal resident graduation ceremony, bowling party, holiday parties, white water rafting, after in-training exam axe throwing, and new resident summer picnics. 

Finally, we encourage you to seriously consider applying to St. E’s for your surgical residency. We welcome any questions you may have about our program.

Dr. Heath A. Dorion, MD, FACS | Program Director Medical School: Northeast Ohio Medical University Residency: St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital Fellowship: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Dr. Dorion began his duties in January 2019 after being selected as the fifth program director for the general surgery residency. He is a clinical professor of surgery at Northeast Ohio Medical University. Upon completion of residency, he served as an active duty staff surgeon in the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, in Dayton, Ohio. He returned to Youngstown in 2006 as a core faculty member for the residency program. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery with added qualifications in surgical critical care. He has served in numerous leadership roles including M3 clerkship director, general surgery section director, Mercy Health Physicians Youngstown board member and chief medical officer at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital. He is an active member of the American College of Surgeons, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, American Hernia Society, Association of Program Directors in Surgery and the Association for Surgical Education. Dr. Dorion has coauthored a textbook chapter on surgical site infections in laparoscopic surgery, numerous practice management guidelines and published research on the use of mesenchymal stem cell transplants in fascial healing. His clinical expertise is in management of complex abdominal wall hernias, septic shock and peritonitis.

Dr. Tiffany Marchand, MD, FACS | Associate Program Director Medical School: Saint Christopher Iba Mar Diop College of Medicine Residency: St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care, University Nevada Las Vegas Dr. Marchand was born in Canton and The Ohio State University earning a degree in biochemistry and molecular genetics. While there, she was on the crew (rowing) and water polo teams.  After graduation, she moved to Belize for two years to attend medical school. After training, she traveled around taking jobs in Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio. In the midst of that, she spent time in London, England earning her master's degree in trauma sciences learning about trauma care in the austere environment and even had the privilege of operating at the Royal College of Surgeons. Five years after leaving Youngstown, being close to family brought her back to the area. She now takes care of a wide breadth of patients from the sick and critically injured to breast cancer patients. She has an interest in surgical education as the Associate Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program and clerkship director for NEOMED and LECOM medical students. Dr. Marchand splits her time between Lake Milton and Berlin Center on her 60-acre tree farm with her partner, Eric, and their two dogs, Diesel and Dozer.

Lillianne D. Stanitsas, MD | Associate Program Director Dr. Lillianne D. Stanitsas, MD, is a board-certified general surgeon with specialized board certifications in Surgical Critical Care and Neurocritical care. She completed her surgical residency at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio, followed by a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Metro Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Originally hailing from California, Dr. Stanitsas earned her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, Davis, before attending Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica for her medical degree. Now based in Youngstown, OH, Dr. Stanitsas focuses her practice on treating critically injured patients and is deeply committed to surgical education, advancing quality improvement initiatives, and reducing surgical site infections. She resides in Youngstown with her husband and two children, where beyond her surgical practice, she enjoys spending time with her family, snowboarding and rock climbing.

Core Faculty

Our faculty and staff are outstanding mentors and educators. All faculty leaders are actively practicing, hands-on clinicians who work alongside the residents. Bedside clinical teaching coupled with clinical and educational expertise make our faculty some of the best. Several of our faculty are administrative leaders within our hospital system which further bolsters their educational strengths.

• Benjamin Biteman, MD
• Thomas J. Chirichella, MD
• Brian Gruber, MD
• Gregory Huang, MD
• Steven Neubauer, DO

Contact Us

Program Coordinator: Larissa McElrath
Email address: lmcelrath1@mercy.com
Phone: 330-480-3124