“ I love delivering babies. I give happiness to people.”
Jane Dimopoulos, M.D., Vice Chair, OB/GYN at Lakeside
Her hometown of Kalamata, Greece is a city of sunny beaches, turquoise seas, and of course, its famous olive groves. It's a far cry from sitting up all night in wintry upstate NY, waiting for your patient's water to break. And yet, Dr. Jane Dimopoulos wouldn't trade her job for the world. “I love delivering babies,” she says. “You deliver a baby and everyone's happy and smiling.
Dr. Dimopoulos has been at Lakeside for more than two years. She first came over to the United States with her husband, now a neurosurgeon at Strong. Since she did her residency in Georgia, the first time she saw snow was when she came to Brockport. “I was terrified!” she jokes. “I had never seen it before!” The weather notwithstanding, she says her adjustment to American culture has been smooth. “I had to learn the language, which was hard. But as a resident, I was so busy working, I didn't know the difference. ”
Dr. Dimopoulos has wanted to be a doctor since she was eight. “I always wanted to be an OB/GYN,” she says.”I never had any doubts...even back then.” Although nearly half of OB/GYNs in Greece now are women, twenty years ago it was a male-dominated field. Dr. Dimopoulos says, “My mom encouraged me because she said women need doctors they can feel more comfortable with.”
Now a mom herself, Dr. Dimopoulos has three young children ages four, two and a half, and one and a half. She says her own experiences with childbirth help her empathize with her patients. “I've experienced both natural and Caesarian sections,” she says, “I've been there. I know what my patients go through. I can tell them what to expect from recovery and after they bring the baby home. ” And she knows about labor pains. “I know the pain they're feeling. It's often very intense. I can talk to them about pain control, what all their options are. ”
To Dr. Dimopoulos the best part about working at Lakeside is that she personally gets to deliver her patients' babies. “That's the privilege of being able to work in a smaller hospital.,” she says. “We don't have an on-call system. We try to be available for our patients. We've been with them from the beginning, and they feel comfortable with us.” Dr. Dimopoulos says that when she was in labor herself, she had the hospital call her OB/GYN. “I wanted my OB/GYN there, not some doctor I'd never seen.”
Dr. Dimopoulos says, “I love Lakeside. I absolutely love it! “ She interviewed at bigger hospitals but says, “It's smaller ,so you can communicate with the people you work with. The nurses are awesome, and anytime I need something, everyone is willing to help. “ And, she says, that kind of positive, helpful attitude applies to patients as well. “Lakeside is a very special place,” she says. “I feel fortunate to be here.”
Before joining Lakeside, Dr. Dimopoulos received her M.D. From Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and did her internship and residency at The Medical Center of Central Georgia.