2016 Health Care Champions Top Doctor: Dr. John Steinberg

Congestive heart failure, lung cancer and ruptured aneurysms are part of the daily care needs of Dr. John Steinberg’s patients.

Over the course of his 22-year career, he’s performed 5,000 cardiac surgeries and over 2,000 thoracic procedures. Each one has its own story, he says, and it’s his job to see the patient through to the next chapter.

“The ultimate gratification is to help a patient progress through a difficult life experience resulting in prolongation and improved quality of life,” Steinberg says.

He comes to the work well trained. Since finishing medical school at the University of Utah in 1985, Steinberg has completed two general surgery residencies, as well as a stint as chief resident at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and a yearlong research fellowship at Harvard University-Massachusetts General Hospital. His last stop before starting his practice in Springfield was as a cardiothoracic surgery research fellow at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Steinberg arrived in town when the cardiothoracic surgery program was in early development at the Ferrell-Duncan Clinic/Cox South Hospital.

“I was able to contribute to the growth and scope of the program,” he says. “New techniques and procedures were added, enabling a larger diversity of cases.”

The next step was partnering with Dr. David Zolfaghari. Steinberg recruited him to the practice from the East Coast after getting ahold of Zolfaghari’s curriculum vitae in 1997. They’ve been partners ever since.

“Together, we have been able to provide a more diverse and comprehensive cardiothoracic surgery program in the Ozarks,” Steinberg says. “This allows the patients to remain in the area, instead of traveling to larger cities, such as Kansas City or St. Louis.”

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and 11.5 percent of adults are diagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The stats lead him to continually refine his craft.

“Patients can stay closer to home for state of the art procedures, post-operative care, follow-up and rehabilitation,” Steinberg says. “Consequently, people can be closer to the support of friends and family in a more comfortable environment as we help them navigate through a stressful time in their lives.”

Working out of the Wheeler Heart and Vascular building, Steinberg has an eye on the future of health care in the Ozarks.

“The recent addition of students from the University of Missouri Medical School doing clinical rotations in Springfield will add even more options to help educate future physicians,” he says. “As new techniques and procedures become available, these are introduced into our practice.

“I am so blessed to be a part of a rapidly evolving field of medicine that allows the successful treatment of diseases that had minimal or no treatment options in the very recent past.”