Haleyville Has New Surgeon

By Glenn Collins
Friday, August 27, 2010 | 12:00 AM
https://hbtv.us/news/?story_id=417

Jeff L. Ryan, MD, and his family knew it would be good to get back to a small town, and he is now in Haleyville with a general surgical practice - not having followed the road that most have in his line of work. "My wife knew I would want to be a surgeon before I did," Ryan laughed.

Ryan grew up on a farm in a small Georgia town of 3,000 people and held diverse jobs before his wife, Ellen, encouraged him to return to school. "I made better grades than I expected," Ryan said, and after working in a veterinarian clinic, "Providence stepped in when a guidance counselor suggested I go to medical school."

He finished his surgical residency at University of South Alabama in 2003, and went to live and work in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He moved his surgical practice to Haleyville July 1 and joined the medical staff of Lakeland Community Hospital. Ryan is board certified in general surgery.

As for farm work (i.e. Milking cows), Ryan laughs again, "Growing up on a farm and working with my hands really lent itself to surgery."