Geisinger doctors named among PA Medical Society’s Top Physicians Under 40

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Two fellowship-trained trauma surgeons and two family-medicine physicians from Geisinger have earned spots on the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s list of Top Physicians Under 40.

Akram Alashari, M.D., Brian Frank, M.D., Kristin Simmons, M.D., and Jason R. Woloski, M.D., were recognized among 42 physicians statewide for their service and expertise. This year’s field represents 19 medical specialties practiced by doctors living in 19 cities. 

Akram Alashari, M.D., is a board-certified, fellowship-trained trauma surgeon who practices at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton and specializes in surgical critical care. His clinical interests are trauma, acute care surgery and health and wellness ─ which is also his research interest ─ and he speaks English and Arabic. Dr. Alashari is recognized for helping to create a culture of safety that fostered significant improvement in Geisinger’s patient satisfaction scores and for being a leader committed to maintaining the highest standards in patient care. 

Brian Frank, M.D., is a board-certified, fellowship-trained general surgeon who practices at GCMC and subspecializes in trauma and surgical critical care. His clinical interests are blunt trauma, multisystem trauma, critical care, shock, and complex abdominal wall reconstruction. His research interests are trauma education/outreach and pain management, and he serves as a faculty member for the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Dr. Frank is recognized for his involvement in multiple performance/quality improvement initiatives in the Geisinger system, and his advocacy for the Stop the Bleed public health campaign, which provides education on bleeding-control techniques.

Kristin Simmons, M.D., is a board-certified physician who specializes in family medicine and practices at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre−Community Medicine. She is recognized for her leadership in the Geisinger system, serving as assistant program director for the Geisinger Kistler Family Medicine Residency Program in Wilkes-Barre, and dedicating herself to educating medical students and encouraging them to train and practice in Pennsylvania. 

Jason R. Woloski, M.D., is a board-certified physician who specializes in family medicine and practices at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre−Community Medicine. His clinical interests are resident/medical student education, inpatient and outpatient medicine, primary care, advocacy/access to care, women’s health, and behavioral medicine. Dr. Woloski’s research interests are resident education, Alzheimer’s dementia, and population health. He is recognized for being an active physician-leader ─ he serves on the boards of trustees for the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and the Luzerne County Medical Society and participates in PAMED’s 2019 Year-Round Leadership Academy ─ and for his role as assistant program director for the Geisinger Kistler Family Medicine Residency Program. 

Honorees were nominated by colleagues and selected by a statewide committee of Pennsylvania Medical Society members. To appear on the list, physicians must practice in Pennsylvania and be younger than 40 on Dec. 31, 2019. 

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 126 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $15 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.