John A. DiSabato, MD

Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Associate Director

Dr. DiSabato graduated from NEOUCOM in 1987 and completed his residency at Summa Akron City Hospital in 1990. He practiced at the Goodyear Medical Center for a little over two years prior to becoming a full-time faculty member with the residency program in 1993. Dr. DiSabato was appointed Chair of the Department of Family Medicine in 2008. He also serves on several Summa committees and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. DiSabato continues to be very involved in teaching and with patient care, in addition to his responsibilities as Department Chair.

Lynn M. Hamrich, MD, FAAFP

Vice Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Associate Director

Dr. Hamrich graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1996. She completed her residency in 1999 and went on to complete a fellowship in Women’s Health at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Hamrich joined the faculty in July 2000. She is the director of OB services for the residency. Dr. Hamrich, along with Drs. Fay, Coleman, and Hershberger, provides the OB instruction and/or precepting at Summa Family Medicine. Her curricular responsibilities also include Gynecology and Women's Health. She is the physician lead for Patient Centered Medical Home ongoing certification. Her other areas of interest are Quality Improvement and EMR optimization. 

Dr. Hamrich is Vice-Chairperson of the Summa Health Quality and Safety Committee and also serves on the Summa Health Board of Directors.

She has been married to her husband for over 30 years and has two adult daughters. She enjoys walking her two rescue dogs (Minnie and Princess), visiting Disney (World, Land, Paris...it doesn't matter) and traveling. She also enjoys local travel to ride UTVs with her family on off-roading trails.

Maria A. Schiaffino, MD, FAAFP

Program Director

Dr. Maria A. Schiaffino is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. She completed her Family Medicine residency at the University of Louisville, KY, and pursued a Fellowship in Academic Family Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. After a year as an Assistant Professor at CWRU, she taught at the University of Texas in San Antonio and later at Emory University in Atlanta.

Dr. Schiaffino maintained a private primary care practice for ten years and served as Medical Director for several assisted living facilities and nursing homes. After fifteen years, she returned to Ohio and joined Kaiser Permanente until 2013 when Kaiser ceased operations in Ohio. She then joined the Summa Health System as Medical Director for the Clinical Access Center and served as a clinical preceptor for the Family Medicine Residency. In 2017, Dr. Schiaffino became a core faculty member of the Family Medicine Residency program. Her extensive experience led to progressively greater leadership roles. In 2020, she became the Medical Director for the program's clinic, and in June 2022, she was appointed Program Director.

Dr. Schiaffino maintains an active clinical practice and oversees the residency home visit program. She is dedicated to caring for complex, frail, and elderly patients as well as young adult survivors of childhood chronic illnesses. She recently developed a longitudinal dermatology curriculum and integrated population health into the daily operations of the Family Medicine Clinic. Passionate about training the next generation of family medicine residents, she is committed to improving community health through the "Expansion of the Circle of Care."

Outside of work, Dr. Schiaffino enjoys gardening and painting. She is an avid traveler eager to explore new exotic destinations.

Paul Chenowith, DO

Director of Osteopathic Education

Dr. Chenowith joined the program as a faculty member in 2017. He is from Akron, graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Erie campus, and completed his internship and residency here at the Summa Akron Campus Family Medicine Residency program. He has special emphasis in sports medicine, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), urgent care, and procedures. His areas of interests include inpatient medicine, rheumatology, OMM/OMT, POCUS, men’s health, and addiction medicine.

Dr. Chenowith started the medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) clinic within the family medicine clinic. He helps facilitate the skills-building workshops. Dr. Chenowith is the Director of Osteopathic Education (DOE) and oversees the osteopathic curriculum. He is currently completing a POCUS Educator’s Training Certificate through the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine (STFM) and leads the POCUS curriculum. He is the lead PGY1 class advisor for the interns.

Outside of work, Dr. Chenowith enjoys traveling, skiing, spending time outdoors, iced coffee, and going on all the rollercoasters at Cedar Point with his 6-year old son and wife.

Evan Howe, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAFP

Medical Director of the Family Medicine Clinic and Associate Director

Dr. Howe is a northeast Ohio native. He has special interests in lifestyle medicine, health education, community health, health services research, and the practice of medicine in outreach settings.  Prior to joining Summa Health system, Dr. Howe practiced rural primary care in his hometown for eight years, including newborn nursery, inpatient, nursing home, and hospice care along with his outpatient office responsibilities.  Additionally, he served as deputy coroner, assisting in death scene investigations in that county. 

Dr. Howe is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine where he received his medical and doctoral degrees, completing his dissertation on healthcare service delivery to the homeless population.  He also completed a Master of Public Health focusing on healthcare education in underserved populations. He completed a residency in family medicine at Fairview Hospital, in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Howe is also board certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.

In his spare time, Dr. Howe enjoys time with his wife and two sons and is active with running and cycling, as well as participating in traditional Irish music performance.

Virginia Regula, DO

Director of Undergraduate Education & Associate Director

Dr. Regula graduated from Ohio Universities Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2015. She completed her family medicine residency at Summa Akron City Hospital in 2018 where she served as Chief Resident in her third year.  After completing residency, Dr. Regula joined Mercy Primary Care Portage in North Canton, Ohio, where she maintained a busy outpatient practice for four years. She returned to our program as a faculty member in 2023.

Dr. Regula has academic interest in medical education. Her interest in education and teaching stems from her first career as an elementary school teacher. She has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Miami University and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Kent State University. She is thrilled to be working in a residency program where she can care for patients and teach residents and medical students. She serves as the M3 Family Medicine Clerkship Director for both NEOMED and OUHCOM. she also serves as the Undergraduate Clinical Site Director for the M1 and M2 NEOMED students.

When not working, Dr. Regula enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, running, and traveling.

John M. Boltri, MD, FAAFP

Associate Director

Dr. Boltri graduated from The Ohio State University in 1987 and completed residency at Summa Akron City Hospital in 1990. Dr. Boltri’s experience includes five years in private practice and 29 years of graduate and undergraduate medical education including four years as a residency director, seven years as vice-chair, and 13 years as a chair.

Dr. Boltri served as Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) at Northeast Ohio Medical University from 2014 to 2024. As chair of the DFCM, Dr. Boltri led teams that implemented a number of innovative programs such as:

Primary Care Training and Enhancement Fellowship focused on achieving the quadruple aim in healthcare: improved quality of care, improved patient experience, lower cost and improved health care provider experience. An award-winning student run free clinic that provides integrated primary and mental health care to under resourced patients. Created three medical student pathways: a rural pathway, a three-year accelerated track, and a social justice pathway.

Dr. Boltri served on the 23-member National Clinical Care Commission (NCCC) from 2018-2021. Established by Congress, the NCCC included diabetes experts from across the US and leaders from 11 government agencies including FDA, CDC, CMS, DOD, VA, NIH, HRSA, USDA, OMH, IHS and AHRQ. Dr. Boltri co-led the targeted prevention committee and helped author the final report to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. In 2024, Dr. Boltri became a core faculty member in the Summa Akron City family medicine residency program.

When not working, Dr. Boltri likes spending time with his wife of 35 years and his three adult children. He also likes to play pickleball and build and fly radio-controlled airplanes.

Kelli Buckner, DO

Associate Director

A 2010 graduate of LECOM’s Erie campus, Dr. Buckner completed her residency training in Osteopathic Family Medicine and OMT at Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, OH in 2013.  Prior to joining the Summa Faculty Dr. Buckner practiced in a variety of private practice models including fee-for-service OMT and Integrative medicine, Direct Primary Care with nationwide Virtual Care services and Value Based Primary Care models.

Dr. Buckner started her involvement in medical education early during her residency when she began leading OMT training sessions at various clinical sites for medical students and residents through Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Buckner currently holds faculty positions at the Cleveland Campus of OU-HCOM as Assistant Clinical Professor of Primary Care and Small Group Instructor for OMT. Dr. Buckner routinely presents OMT topics at the regional conference for the Cleveland Academy of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Buckner has a variety of curricular interests including OMT, lifestyle medicine, Integrative Medicine and LGBTQ+ care and feels strongly that Primary Care is the heart of Medicine. She serves as the current M3 Family Medicine Clerkship Director for NEOMED and OU-HCOM.

When not actively teaching she can usually be found running one of her many children to one activity or another or reading a good book (FICTION Please!) with a nice hot cup of coffee.

Shannon Perkins, PHD

Associate Director

Dr. Perkins completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at St. Louis University in 2001, including an internship in clinical health psychology at the University of Florida Health Sciences Center. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Dr. Perkins has worked in several departments at Summa since 2009, before coming to the Family Medicine program in 2017. She previously worked in the Bariatric Care Center, as medical director of the Psychiatric Intensive Outpatient program, and as a consult-liaison psychologist with the trauma surgery service.

Dr. Perkins oversees Behavioral Health Integration at the FMC, as well as the Behavioral Health and Community Medicine curricula. She coordinates the Health, Education, Advocacy and Law program (HEAL), a partnership to provide free legal services to FMC patients with health-harming legal needs. Additionally, she collaborates with residents on the Diversity Action Committee and the Wellness Committee.

Dr. Perkins has twin girls in high school and a son who goes to Kent State University.  In her free time, she reads lots of books, walks her dogs, and volunteers with Akron Snow Angels.

Verlaine Blaser, DO

Associate Director

Dr. Blaser attended the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated in 2002. She completed her internship and residency training at Summa Akron City Hospital Family Medicine in 2005. Dr. Blaser went into private practice for several years following graduation. She returned to the program as a faculty member in 2017. Stemming from her experience in private practice, Dr. Blaser enjoys interacting with residents and patients during outpatient clinic hours. She collaborates with Drs. Chenowith, Babyak and Hamrich in the Family Medicine MAT (medication-assisted therapy) clinic.

Her curricular areas of responsibility include Practice Management, Pediatrics (outpatient), and Newborn Nursery. The long-term opiate therapy (LTOT) program is primarily headed by her along with the behavioral health consultants. Dr. Blaser works with several other faculty in population health/panel management, in addition to clinical operations. She represents Family Medicine at the Newborn Clinical Consensus meetings for the hospital.

When not at work, Dr. Blaser enjoys a fun-filled and busy life with her family, reading and staying active. She volunteers her time at a free medical clinic, mobile food pantry, and through a local organization devoted to the survivors of human trafficking.

Kathleen Fay, MD

Associate Director

Dr. Fay is an Akron Native, who was even born at Summa Akron City Hospital. She graduated from the University of Akron in 2014 and went on to attend Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) where she graduated in 2018. Dr. Fay completed her residency with our program and graduated in 2021. She, along with Dr. Thiel, are the first M.D.s of our program to graduate with Osteopathic Recognition designation.

She assists Dr. Hamrich with teaching and leading the OB/GYN and women's health curriculum. Her special curricular interests include obstetrics and inpatient medicine.
In her free time, she enjoys spending quiet evenings at home with her family and two dogs. She is a big fan of Marvel and Disney and can be frequently found visiting one of their parks.

Ellen Harrington, PhD

Associate Director

Dr. Harrington earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Kent State University and completed her internship and postdoctoral training at the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System.  Prior to joining the Family Medicine program in 2021, she worked at Summa Health’s Traumatic Stress Center for 12 years.  Dr. Harrington teaches communication skills and behavioral health topics and collaborates with Dr. Perkins on Community Medicine, Wellness, and Behavioral Health Integration. Additionally, Dr. Harrington oversees the food pharmacy program in the Family Medicine Center.

When she is not at work, you can probably find Dr. Harrington playing fetch with her dog at the park or trying to keep up with her two very energetic elementary school-aged children. She also enjoys doing yoga, playing soccer, seeing live music, and cooking and eating good food.   

Haley Coleman, MD

Associate Director

Dr. Coleman is a committed family physician who graduated from Northeast Ohio Medical University in 2020 and from Summa Family Medicine Residency in 2023. She has extensive leadership experience, having served as House Staff President and Vice President during her residency. Nationally, she has contributed to the advancement of family medicine through her roles with the American Academy of Family Physicians, and she currently holds leadership positions on the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) Foundation Board and the OAFP Board of Directors.
Her curricular interests include women’s health, obstetrics, dermatology, inpatient curriculum development, patient advisory council, procedures, MAT, and quality improvement. Dr. Coleman is particularly passionate about creating educational programs that prepare future physicians to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care. She enjoys shaping the clinical training of residents and medical students alike.

Dr. Coleman is also deeply involved in community service. She is a founding member of Northeast Ohio Medical University’s student-run free clinic, which provides essential healthcare services to underserved populations. Additionally, she participates in mission trips to Mexico and Guatemala and has volunteered with Humane Borders. She is committed to global health and humanitarian efforts.

In her free time, Dr. Coleman enjoys traveling, practicing yoga, going to the gym, creating healthy meals, and hiking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park with her husband and their Alaskan Malamute. She also values spending time with family and friends.

Stefanie Lehmier, PharmD. BCPS

Associate Director, Clinical Pharmacist

Dr. Lehmier graduated from Roosevelt University College of Pharmacy in 2014 with a doctorate in pharmacy. In addition, she expanded her clinical knowledge by pursuing a PGY1 and PGY2 residency. Her pharmacy practice PGY1 residency was completed at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in the Chicagoland area. She went on to receive specialty training by completing a PGY2 Internal Medicine/Academia residency at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center and Northeast Ohio Medical University.

Dr. Lehmier rounds with the FMIS team daily and assists with transitions of care. She also works under a collaborative practice agreement to assist in chronic disease state management in the Family Medicine clinic. In addition to her Summa Family Medicine roles, Dr. Lehmier is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and teaches within the Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy curriculum. Dr. Lehmier's scholarship interests include scholarship of teaching and learning, quality improvement, inter-professional education, and characterizing and identifying trends in the Ohio pharmacy workforce.

Danielle Taylor, PharmD

Associate Director, Clinical Pharmacist

Dr. Taylor earned her PharmD from Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in 2021 and expanded her clinical knowledge by completing a PGY1 residency at Summa Health. She also completed the Teaching and Learning Certificate through NEOMED. Dr. Taylor rounds with the Family Medicine Inpatient Service team daily and assists with transitions of care.  She also works under a collaborative practice agreement to assist in chronic disease state management in the Family Medicine clinic.

In addition to her Family Medicine roles, Dr. Taylor is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and teaches within the NEOMED College of Pharmacy curriculum.
Dr. Taylor's interests include quality improvement, inter-professional education and antimicrobial stewardship.