To help meet the increasing demand for gastroenterology care in the region, Berkshire Health Systems is pleased to welcome two new gastroenterologists to Gastroenterology Professional Services of Berkshire Medical Center (BMC).  

Drs. Ira Schmelkin and Mark Sterling are both board certified and fellowship trained Gastroenterologists, and both will be able to offer a wealth of knowledge and experience to their Berkshire patients.  

 

Drs. Schmelkin and Sterling highlight the importance of screening colonoscopy, which is proven to help prevent colon cancer or to detect it in its early stages if screening guidelines are met. This year, nearly 148,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer, and the average person has 1 in 20 chance of developing colon cancer. 

 

Dr. Schmelkin, who served as Division Chief of Gastroenterology at BMC from 2004 to 2011 returns to the Berkshires after a ten-year tenure at Baystate Medical Center and Baystate Noble Hospital and served as the chief of gastroenterology at Baystate Health. He previously worked at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, NY, and North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, where he was in private practice. Dr. Schmelkin is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and was fellowship trained in Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York, Buffalo School of Medicine, and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Schmelkin is an expert in capsule endoscopy (camera pills), and his clinical interests include small bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer screening, clinical research and

general gastroenterology. 

 

Dr. Sterling came to the Berkshires after serving at Tufts Medical Center for six years, and previously served as Director of Endoscopic Ultrasound at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, MA, and as Chief of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Director of Gastroenterology Service at UMDNJ-University Hospital, Newark, NJ. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, and fellowship trained in Gastroenterology at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center/Faulkner Hospital, Boston, and in Advanced Endoscopy/Gastroenterology at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH. He received his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester. Dr. Sterling's clinical interests include diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, pancreas, and liver; Esophagogastroduodenoscopy and

Colonoscopy; endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; endoscopic ultrasound; endoscopic dilation and small bowel endoscopy 

 

Drs. Schmelkin and Sterling join our expert team of gastroenterology providers at Gastroenterology. Professional Services of BMC. For an appointment, ask your primary care provider for a referral.