to screen patients and process paperwork, but later was trained to take on more advanced tasks, such as checking vitals and drawing blood. Glick’s confidence in him meant a lot. “What Myron really did for me was he believed in me before I believed in myself,” Gable says. “It had the impact of, ‘Well, if he believes in me, I can probably do this.’” When Gable was still an undergraduate, his youngest sister was shot in a domestic incident. Watching surgeons tend to her at Erie County Medical Center reinforced his interest in being a physician. He transferred to UB, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After taking time off, he took the MCAT exam, but did poorly on the physics portion. He succeeded the second time with the encouragement of Glick, who acknowledged his accomplishment by giving him a stethoscope and otoscope. Today, the instruments hang in Gable’s office as a reminder of what it took to become a doctor and the help he got along the way.
RETURNING TO GIVE BACK While a student in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Gable maintained his connection with Jericho Road, where he worked part-time. Following graduation, he completed his residency in obstetricsgynecology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, after which he received lucrative offers to work in private practice, but decided to return to Jericho Road. Faith is a guiding force in Gable’s life, and it factored into his decision. “As someone trying to strive for happiness and support my family, I also look for what God wants —ETHAN GABLE, MD ’13 of me and is asking of me,” he says. “I knew Jericho Road was where I wanted to go, and what I should be doing.” In July 2017 Gable entered practice at Jericho Road Community Health Center, serving as its first obstetriciangynecologist. Within months, he was asked to assume the role of director of operations, and in March 2018, Gable—then 34 years old and a father of three—was named chief medical officer for the center, succeeding Glick, who transitioned to chief executive officer. In addition to his new responsibilities, Gable continues to consult on complex ob-gyn cases and to perform surgery, explaining that seeing patients helps to keep him grounded. Glick, in turn, is impressed by how hard Gable has worked and how far he has come. “When I first met Ethan, he was a pretty tough West Side kid who had a lot of difficulties in his life. I think Jericho Road was an anchor for
him in a challenging childhood. It’s been a real privilege to mentor him and to see him grow, and now to see him in the leadership at Jericho Road as the chief medical officer. I’m really grateful.” Glick also feels that UB has much to take pride in regarding Gable’s accomplishments. “Ethan went to UB as an undergraduate, then to its medical school, and now he’s back with Jericho Road while being a mentor and teacher at Oishei Children’s Hospital. UB gave him a chance, and UB should be proud that someone from the neighborhood, the West Side, went to school there, went away for his residency, came back, and is now giving back. Ethan is a perfect example, I think, of what UB wants to be.”
FULL-SERVICE CARE FOR REFUGEES Jericho Road has changed dramatically since that first week 21 years ago when Glick was the sole doctor with few patients. The center now operates three low-income medical clinics. Its newest, on Buffalo’s East Side, will expand in 2019 to include a pharmacy, dental clinic and gym. In 2015, Jericho Road acquired Vive, a shelter, also on Buffalo’s East Side, that helps people seeking asylum in the United States and Canada. Altogether, Gable oversees 300 employees, 14 doctors and 15 mid-level providers, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and 29 translators. Hope Refugee DropIn Services, another of Jericho Road’s programs, teaches immigrants practical skills, such as how to pay a bill, use a credit card, apply for a green card or make a medical appointment. There is an after-school program for middle school refugee children, another to help young parents access books and toys, and an at-home mentoring program for refugees and for women pregnant in the United States for the first time. The programs are meant to sustain refugees after their six-month relationship with a resettlement agency ends. Jericho Road does not limit the number of patients on Medicaid. In 2017, 79 percent of the patients were on the program, while only 12 percent had private insurance. The center’s expansion has occurred despite the challenges inherent in working with a refugee population such as language barriers, lack of basic health literacy and difficulty accessing specialists. “It’s not just that they are Medicaid patients,” Gable explains. “Our medical system isn’t conducive to addressing these barriers, and a lot of providers don’t know how to or maybe aren’t motivated to learn how to deal with these obstacles.”
“We know that the more exposure students, residents and other health-care providers have to this environment, the more likely they are to continue to practice in underserved populations.”
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SPRING 2019
UB MEDICINE
