Dr. John Schorge came to Memphis and Regional One Health in 2022 with the goal of establishing and OB/GYN service that would enhance access to care for women throughout the Mid-South.
Today, he leads a growing practice that helps patients access regular care, minimally invasive surgeries, clinical trials, and much more.
With the support of his team, hospital leadership, and the Regional One Health Foundation, Dr. Schorge looks forward to continuing to advance care for women in our community.
When Dr. John Schorge came to Regional One Health to lead the OB/GYN service, he knew he was stepping into an epicenter of health care disparity in America.
He recalls a conversation with a colleague after seeing a patient with stage 4 cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is preventable, detectable, and treatable when caught early – but lack of access to care meant too many women in the Mid-South were suffering.
“We were talking about the suffering we see from this type of advanced cancer, and I mentioned that it is hard as a doctor to see someone with that kind of burden,” Dr. Schorge recalls. “He said, ‘As a human, it’s hard to see someone with that kind of burden.’”
As both a doctor and human, Dr. Schorge was drawn to Memphis and Regional One Health by the chance to ease that burden.
After nearly four years, he has built a team that is having a major impact on the health of women in our community. With the support of system leadership, Women’s Services providers, and the Regional One Health Foundation, the hospital continues expanding access to expert care.
An early calling
Growing up in rural Michigan, Dr. Schorge didn’t have much exposure to academic medicine. He isn’t sure exactly when his interest in the field was sparked, but the caption next to his senior photo in his high school yearbook states his plans to become a physician.
Dr. John Schorge is building an OB/GYN service at Regional One Health that improves access to advanced care. “At Regional One Health, we know patients deserve the highest level of care, and that’s what we provide for them,” he said.
He studied molecular biology in college and attended medical school at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
“Like most students, I went into medical school not knowing exactly what I wanted to do. During my OB/GYN rotation, I was inspired by the variety of care that’s provided, and I had role models who ended up going into gynecologic oncology,” he said. “After learning about the need for that expertise across the country, I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”
He attended Harvard University for his residency and fellowship, then started caring for patients as a specialist in gynecologic oncology and complex gynecologic surgery.
A chance to make an impact
In 2021, Dr. Schorge was serving as chief of Gynecologic Oncology at Tufts Medical Center and associate director for Cancer Operations at Tufts Cancer Center in Massachusetts when he was approached about leading Regional One Health’s OB/GYN service and helping establish cancer care at the hospital in partnership with University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
On a personal level, the timing was good: his children were grown and spread across the country at universities in California, Florida, and Washington D.C.
Professionally, the opportunity was unmatched.
For one thing, he’d be joining a team that shared his dedication to caring for everyone, regardless of their circumstances. “I was on a Zoom call and one of the residents was in tears talking about how committed the department is to caring for this community,” he said. “I was floored by that emotion. I thought, ‘I want to be part of that spirit, that energy, that effort.’”
Since Dr. Schorge joined Regional One Health, rates of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery have increased significantly. Minimally invasive procedures off excellent outcomes and an easier recovery.
Secondly, the impact he could make was enormous.
“Previously, if a woman had a gynecologic cancer diagnosis and came to Regional One Health, they would have to send her across town and hope her insurance was good enough. If she didn’t have insurance, she might not get care at all,” he said. “I asked, ‘If I just walk in the building, I can make sure that same patient can get treatment?’”
“You don’t get that many opportunities in life to have that kind of an impact in a community.”
Building from the ground up
When Dr. Schorge started in early 2022, “There was no clinic, no patients, no nurse – it was just me and the idea that we could pull this off.”
He opened his clinic and made sure patients could access surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. He brought in a nurse dedicated to the gynecologic oncology program and a nurse practitioner to help coordinate medical oncology treatments. An OB/GYN resident and fourth-year medical student were also assigned to the team.
Dr. Schorge praised Regional One Health’s leadership for helping the program grow. “We have been the beneficiary of a lot of energy and effort from the leadership team,” he said.
Support from the Regional One Health Foundation has also been key.
“There are a lot of gaps in health care systems, and the Foundation is pivotal in addressing both short-term needs and long-term initiatives,” he said. “We have social support projects where the Foundation is absolutely critical, and they’ve bought new monitors and blood pressure cuffs for pregnant patients. It’s both little things and big things that we rely on the Foundation for.”
A big payoff
Dr. Schorge looks forward to continuing to build the OB/GYN service at Regional One Health, which includes expanding access to care, offering clinical trials, training residents and fellows, and more.
It’s paying off for women in the Mid-South. “On a daily basis we can point to circumstances where we’re elevating the care in the community,” Dr. Schorge said.
They’ve improved Regional One Health’s rate of minimally invasive hysterectomy to over 90 percent, well above national averages. Black women historically had fewer minimally invasive procedures, which offer a much easier recovery than traditional surgery.
Regional One Health has also grown its reputation as a tertiary care center, meaning patients are transferred from all over the region when they need complex care.
And just recently, Dr. Schorge and UTHSC opened Regional One Health’s first ever gynecologic oncology clinical trial, providing a new treatment option for recurrent or advanced stage endometrial cancer.
Building community through better health
As the OB/GYN program grows alongside Regional One Health’s plans for a new hospital, Dr. Schorge is excited to play a role in strengthening the community he now calls home.
Since moving to Memphis, he’s enjoyed Grizzlies basketball, live blues music, and traveling to sites including Nashville, Civil War memorials, and Eureka Springs.
“Memphis feels like a small town, and I’ve been reminded of how friendly people are in the south. They’re very gracious, including the patients we’re incredibly privileged to serve,” he said. “They are so appreciative about being treated like everybody should be treated.”
Dr. Schorge looks forward to the opportunity to continue to build on that philosophy as Regional One Health plans for its new hospital designed to meet the growing needs of the Mid-South.
“You don’t want to feel like people are left out of the system. You’d like to think that we as a society have the courage to provide the same level of care and appreciate human dignity across the board,” Dr. Schorge said. “At Regional One Health, we know patients deserve the highest level of care, and that’s what we provide for them.”
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