Physicians honored for dedication and service

HSHS St. Joseph’s Foundation recently hosted a dedication event for the Women and Infants Center surgery suite at St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese. The suite was dedicated thanks to a contribution made to St. Joseph’s Foundation from Southern OB/GYN Associates (SOGA), who made the donation in honor of SOGA physicians Dr. Richard Dermody and Dr. Penny Gozia. 

Attendees to the event included hospital administration, Foundation board members and SOGA physicians and staff, including Drs. Dermody and Gozia and their family members. Remarks were shared by Emily Wilson, major gifts officer of HSHS St. Joseph’s Foundation; Amanda Ennen, HSHS St. Joseph’s chief nursing officer and interim president and CEO; and Dr. Anne Doll-Pollard, president of SOGA.

Emily Wilson expressed her thanks for the SOGA donation in honor of the physicians. “We are so grateful that SOGA wanted to recognize Dr. Dermody and Dr. Gozia through this contribution. Thanks to the talent and commitment of these physicians, our Women and Infants Center today continues to serve as the hospital of choice for families seeking a family-centered, high-quality, maternity experience,” she said.

Dr. Richard Dermody founded the SOGA practice in 1981 after completing his residency at Southern Illinois University-Springfield.  At that time, Dr. Dermody was the only obstetrician/gynecologist on staff at St. Joseph’s (family practice physicians were also delivering babies then) and was on call 24/7 year-round for his patients. Dr. Dermody retired from SOGA in 2004 and moved to Seattle to be closer to family.     

Dr. Penny Gozia joined Dr. Dermody at the SOGA practice in 1987.  Dr. Gozia came to Breese from Vandalia where she worked briefly after finishing her residency at Southern Illinois University-Springfield.  In addition to all her clinical duties, Dr. Gozia assumed the responsibility of running the practice as well and in 2003 received her Master of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.  Dr. Gozia retired from SOGA in 2019 to spend more time with her family 

Dr. Doll-Pollard shared how Drs. Dermody and Gozia worked together to build the SOGA practice. “They were dedicated to the practice and their patients.  They would take every-other night and weekend call.  If one was on vacation the other assumed all the duties of seeing patients in the office and taking call at night and on weekends,” she said. “Dr. Dermody and Dr. Gozia are both board certified and worked very hard to provide the most up-to-date care to patients. They treated the whole patient and ensured that patient care was always first.  Both doctors also helped to educate the nursing staff in the Women and Infants Center as well.  In fact, Dr. Gozia still returns on a regular basis to help educate the new staff members,” she shared.  “It is our honor to honor them in this way.”

For more information about HSHS St. Joseph’s Foundation or making a donation, contact Emily Wilson at SJBFoundation@hshs.org or 618-526-5698.

Photo Caption: Dr. Richard Dermody and Dr. Penny Gozia from Southern OB/GYN Associates (SOGA), were recently recognized for their years of dedicated service by having the HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Women and Infants Center Surgery Suite named in their honor.