Dr. Emmanuel Maduakor is a former US Army physician who received training in internal medicine and joined UMass Memorial Health Care in 2004. As a child during the Biafra-Nigeria civil war between 1967 and 1970, Dr. Maduakor recalls the thousands of refugees fleeing to the east to avoid dying. "My father opened up our home to refugees," he said. "Humanitarian physicians who came from abroad treated everyone and some worked in our home, with my father assisting. I took it all in as a boy.”

Driven by what he witnessed as a child, Dr. Maduakor came to the US to pursue an education and become a physician. "As a boy, I lost families and friends to war-time tragedies such as kwashiorkor and military (enemy) air raids and it could easily have been me," he said. "So, I greet each day by recognizing that I’m fortunate to be alive and caring for others. I enjoy the personal interactions in health care and meeting people from all over the world.”

Since 2004, Dr. Maduakor has been a hospitalist at UMass Memorial Medical Center at both University and Memorial Campuses. He cares for patients hospitalized for a variety of acute illnesses, including pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart attack, heart failure, and sepsis. “How each disease challenges individual patients could differ significantly,” said Dr. Maduakor. “This is where the art of medicine blends with the science to conquer mysteries daily—one patient at a time, using compassion and attention to details. Human touch is always a safe place to start making the connections." He takes the time to listen to patients and their families to make sure he understands why they are being admitted to the hospital. "I strive to identify the disease early, clarify patients’ expectations, and propose a plan that works to get my patients well as soon as possible."

As a hospitalist, Dr. Maduakor works collaboratively with a network of caregivers, including specialists, where needed, to provide the best possible patient care. “Teamwork, communication and mutual trust/respect drive our work. You cannot be an island and expect to provide best care for all your patients, all the time.” Dr. Maduakor is a health care quality scholar and serves as a physician quality officer. "Every patient deserves personalized services and high-value health care, which is patient-centered care, high quality, effective and safe. High value health care is what we strive to offer every patient at UMass Memorial Medical Center, every day."

Dr. Maduakor is inspiring the next generation of physicians as an assistant professor of medicine at UMass Medical School. "As a clinician-educator, my role is to teach residents and students the art and skills of bedside patient care—not only how to recognize and treat disease, but also what it means to bring effective personal qualities; evidence-based medicine and best practice to daily patient care. I believe that when we combine bedside education with classroom work we have a better shot at producing the next generation of physicians who will be better at fighting diseases using novel sciences and technologies—than today’s doctors, myself included."