HONESDALE, PA — Jennifer Rodriguez-Aiello, M.D., officially joined Honesdale Surgical Associates on August 1. The group is part of Wayne Memorial Hospital (WMH).  

Board-certified in both general surgery and trauma critical care, Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello has been practicing surgery since 2007. Her expertise includes general and emergency surgery, as well as trauma, care of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit and robotics. 

While Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello has worked in many settings, including a Level I Trauma Center over the last 10 years just outside Washington DC, she has a passion for rural medicine and wants to provide excellent care for underserved communities.

“I began coming to Wayne Memorial last year on a part-time, per diem basis and fell in love with the people and the town,” she said. “Everyone is so kind, and there is such a collaborative spirit here. I really wanted to come to a place where I could give individualized attention to each patient and the likelihood of making a difference all that much better. The people of Wayne County and the surrounding area deserve excellent care and my partners and I hope to provide that.”

Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello completed a surgical critical care fellowship at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Virginia after completing her surgical residency at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. She received her medical degree at UCC (Universidad Central del Caribe) in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and her undergraduate degree from Yale University in Connecticut. 

Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello comes to Wayne Memorial after working at the Inova Hospital System, where she was the system quality officer for acute care surgery and an attending physician in trauma/surgical critical care/acute care surgery; she performed both elective and emergency surgeries.  

She specializes in gallbladders, hernias, bowel surgery, robotic surgery and trauma. 

In addition to training in robotic surgery, Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello is an instructor in advanced trauma life support and Stop the Bleed, a program from the American College of Surgeons that trains people to stop bleeding in the severely injured.

Wayne Memorial is in the process of acquiring a robotic surgery system, according to CEO James Pettinato. When that happens, Pettinato said that Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello will become the director of the program.

“Many of the younger physicians coming out of residencies today, particularly in surgery and urology, are demanding robotic systems in their workplace,” Pettinato said, “and we hope to accommodate them for the benefit of our community.”

“Robotic surgery gives the surgeon the ability to make smaller incisions with better visualization, control and precision,” said Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello, “which results in a safer operation and leads to less pain and shorter recovery times for the patient. It’s a relatively new technology that is constantly evolving and its reach is expanding every day. ” 

Pettinato called Dr. Rodriguez-Aiello a “wonderful addition to our surgical staff. We have had the pleasure of working with her part-time for the past year, and we are delighted she decided to join us fulltime.”

Honesdale Surgical Associates also includes Louis D’Oro, M.D.; Felipe Orellana, D.O.; and Chelsea LaTourette, CRNP. The practice can be reached at 570/253-8635. Information about all Wayne Memorial’s services can be found at www.wmh.org.