www.montereycountynow.com JUNE 27-JULY 3, 2024 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 19 e’re all athletes in life. That’s how Dr. Forest Mealey sees it. “Some people have goals of doing triathlons,” Mealey says. “For some people, getting through the day with the least amount of shortness of breath is their athletic endeavor.” Mealey is one of two new pulmonologists who recently joined Montage Medical Group’s team of primary care and specialty providers. Before coming to Monterey County, Mealey practiced in the Bay Area after an internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic followed by a pulmonary and critical care fellowship at University of California, Davis. He is joined by Dr. Sky Vanderburg who comes to Montage Medical Group after an internal medicine and global health residency at Duke University and pulmonary and critical care fellowship at University of California, San Francisco, where he also began practicing. Both doctors provide outpatient care at Montage Medical Group’s Ryan Ranch campus and inpatient care at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In the outpatient setting, Mealey and Vanderburg care for patients with chronic or complex lung conditions like asthma, allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer to help control their symptoms, manage their medications, and improve their quality of life. In the ICU, Mealey and Vanderburg work closely with other clinicians including cardiologists, surgeons, neurologists, and nurses to care for patients with issues like heart attacks, strokes, infections, organ failure, and life support. “The outpatient setting lets me get to know patients and understand what they’re doing in their everyday lives,” Mealey says. “Understanding how people get into the hospital is an important part of caring for them when they’re here. Whether they’re in the ICU or just trying to breathe better, the priority is optimizing health to help patients get back to the athletic endeavor we call life.” Access for all When Vanderburg was a child, he watched his financially insecure and geographically isolated grandfather go blind from diabetes. “His diabetes was hard to manage because there were so many barriers to care,” Vanderburg says. In medical school, Vanderburg learned that his grandfather’s blindness was entirely preventable. “That really stuck with me, and it continues to drive me today,” he says. Growing up in rural Missouri, he watched local independent doctors work to bring high-quality medical care to his community. That inspired him to follow suit. “To me, medical advancements aren’t fully implemented until they’re available to everyone regardless of geography or ability to pay,” Vanderburg says. During residency, Vanderburg’s passion for increasing access to healthcare led him to spend years studying respiratory infections in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. He also conducted oxygen therapy research that helped providers in under-resourced parts of the world better manage chronic shortages of medical oxygen. Vanderburg says that by caring for Monterey County communities, he is continuing his mission of increasing access to medical care for all. “Taking a breath is core to our day-to-day experience and mental health,” Vanderburg says. “I’m grateful to practice in a community with which I can connect and where I can make an impact. If you see me when you’re out and about, I hope you’ll say hi.” Visit montagemedicalgroup.org to learn more about pulmonology at Montage Medical Group. Two new pulmonologists join Montage Medical Group W PAID ADVERTISEMENT Montage Medical Group pulmonologists (from left to right) Forest Mealey, MD and Sky Vanderburg, MD “Whether they’re in the ICU or just trying to breathe better, the priority is optimizing health to help patients get back to the athletic endeavor we call life.” — Dr. Forest Mealey
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