Carlos Martinez, M.D. joins Oaklawn pulmonology

Sept. 7, 2017

Carlos Martinez, M.D., joins Oaklawn’s pulmonology, critical care services

 MARSHALL – Carlos Martinez grew up in South America among a family of lawyers. In time, he realized that he wanted to help people in a different way – and received his family’s full support.

“I decided on pursuing a medical career after I understood that medicine is more than a biological science,” said the pulmonary specialist who recently joined the physician staff of the Oaklawn Medical Group.

“Treatment is more than medications,” Martinez said. “Listening and talking, providing education and empowering patients – these make up a very important path to therapeutic success.”

Martinez now is working in Oaklawn’s pulmonology clinic with Alcides Gil-Acosta, M.D. Martinez also is sharing medical responsibilities in Oaklawn’s Critical Care Unit.

Oaklawn’s pulmonary services are based in the Ricketson Medical Building at 103 E. Mansion St. Appointments with Oaklawn Medical Group – Pulmonology may be made by calling (269) 781-2658.

Until recently, Martinez has been serving as an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He said his decision to study medicine was based on a desire to combine a variety of personal aptitudes.

“It would give me the opportunity to pursue communication skills, compassion and understanding of the social and psychological issues of my patients,” Martinez said.

He said he has enjoyed visiting Marshall in the years since he arrived in Michigan from his native Colombia.

“I have admired the architecture, the history of the city and the strong sense of community,” he said. “It is the kind of place where I want to live.”

Martinez actually has lived, studied and worked in the United States for about 14 years, but he grew up in Bogota, a city of more than 7 million residents in the middle of the Andes Mountains.

“After completing my education in Colombia, I moved to the United States, initially due to my interest in pursuing a career combining state-of-the-art research and clinical practice,” Martinez said. “I repeated all my training at the University of Texas and the University of Michigan.”

Martinez received his medical degree in 1986 from National University in Bogota, where he served his residency in internal medicine through 1990. In early 1993, he completed a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at Bosque University, Hospital Santa Clara, in Bogota.

Martinez went on to obtain a master’s degree in public health in 2008 from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he completed a residency in internal medicine and occupational medicine in 2009.

Martinez obtained a master of science degree in health and health-care research in 2012 from the Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan School of Public Health, where he completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine in the same year.

Martinez is certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a member of the American Thoracic Society and the American College of Chest Physicians. Martinez also has served in a variety of positions as a journal reviewer and as a teacher of pulmonary and critical care medicine.

Martinez and his wife, Terresa, plan to move to Marshall in the near future from their home in Brighton.

“This city gives me and my family the opportunity to live in a great home in a country setting, to enjoy nature, but still be close to work and our community,” Martinez said. “We have four kids, all of them in college or already working on their professional interests. They are very fond of Marshall, too.

“We can look like empty-nesters, but our home always is the meeting place for the whole family, and all the kids feel that they have a place to anchor their lives, and that place will be our new home in Marshall.”