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Military medical group honors Northside surgeon, Col. Dr. Marx
LIBERTY
Army Reserve Col. Dr. Robert J. Marx has been inducted into the Order of Military Medical Merit.
The Order is a private organization the Department of the Army founded in 1982 to recognize excellence and distinguished service among Army Medical Department personnel. His induction was in April at Fort Deven, Mass.
A general surgeon, Dr. Marx resumed private practice in December 2011 at ValleyCare’s Northside Medical Center. Also, he serves as chief of professional services in the 804th Medical Brigade at Fort Deven.
“I always felt I was out there doing the job I was asked to do. I didn’t think of it as outstanding and extraordinary. It was my job,” Dr. Marx said, adding he was surprised to be nominated.
During his six deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other parts of the world, Dr. Marx did not have a desk job.
He was on the ground as a surgeon as part of forward surgical teams that had about 20 doctors, nurses, technicians and support personnel.
Last fall, Dr. Marx was third in command of a team that devised and implemented a plan to withdraw medical personnel from Iraq, for which he received the Bronze Star for “exceptionally meritorious service.”
In his nomination, Dr. Marx was praised for distinguished service during his 21-year career as an Army surgeon.
He began his Army career in 1989 while a surgical resident at Deaconess Medical Center-West in St. Louis, Mo. As senior resident, he trained in burn care at Brooke Army Medical Center and the Institute of Surgical Research. As chief resident, he trained at Fort Stewart, Ga., performing surgery and taking surgical calls in the emergency department and was deemed to be a tremendous military medical asset.
Born and primarily educated in Missouri, Dr. Marx had general-surgery practices at Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital, the former Forum Health Care System, St. Elizabeth Health Center, Austintown Ambulatory Surgical Center (merged with the Surgery Center at Canfield), Southwoods Surgery Center in Boardman, Primary Health Network in Sharon, Pa.; and others.
He is a member of many professional organizations and gained a Fellowship in the International College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. He trained at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany working in the intensive-care unit and surgery and gaining experience in the clinical side of military medicine.
Dr. Marx is board certified in surgery and has certificates in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support and advanced trauma life support.
He and his wife, Rebecca, have a daughter, Anna Newman, and two grandsons who live in the Chicago area. Mrs. Marx is president of the Friends of the Liberty Branch of the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library and treasurer of Advocates for the Ohio Osteopathic Association.