Locations
Lori Smith, MD is a board-certified Internal Medicine Physician with more than 25 years of experience practicing medicine. She is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as well as a certified diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM). She is an active member of the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the Obesity Medicine Association. Dr. Smith graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed residency training at The Christ Hospital in Ohio. Dr. Smith has internalized the key learnings not only from her formal education, but also from her personal experiences to establish a patient-centered care approach that fosters collaboration, openness, respect, and empowerment.
Dr. Smith grew up in Canton, OH, and was raised by a village of nurturing women. Her maternal grandmother, Grace, inspired her to become a doctor. Grace worked weeknights in a hospital as a nurse’s aide and managed a nursing home on the weekends. Grace also lived with insulin-dependent diabetes. One of Dr. Smith’s earliest childhood memories was that of witnessing the faithful ritual of her grandmother injecting insulin twice daily. Back then, doctors did not have the tools for early diagnosis of diabetes, nor the medications or interventions to prevent end-organ damage. After many years of living with insulin-dependent diabetes, Grace’s quality of life deteriorated. Her kidneys failed, requiring dialysis; her leg became gangrenous from poor circulation, requiring an amputation; and her heart failed. Grace passed away while Dr. Smith was in college. Dr. Smith feels that she honors her grandmother every day in how she cares for patients. Her philosophy in managing chronic diseases is to apply evidence-based medicine to address the root cause of the disease, with the intent of reversing, controlling, and preventing the complications of the disease process. She seeks to understand each patient’s health goals with respect to their lifestyle, culture, and personal preferences to provide a comprehensive, individualized care plan.
Dr. Smith enjoys people, community, and culture. She loves to create memorable experiences through theater and art outings, sports events, concerts, especially jazz festivals, and travel. She regularly celebrates family and friends through simple acts like game nights at her home to elaborate parties at various venues.