St. Luke's Tamaqua Medical Center welcomes Bethlehem native to its St. Luke's Spine and Pain Associates practice.

Pain specialist Dr. Joshua Wert, D.O., graduated from Freedom High School in 1998. He stayed local and completed the prerequisite courses for a bachelor's degree at Northampton Community College. From there, he went to Shippensburg University and earned a bachelor of science degree in biology.Paying his way through school, Wert worked as a store clerk, a Fed Ex package handler, and as a construction roofer for five years."Learning the meaning of hard work from my parents, as well as my personal experiences, has helped me to not only become the man and physician I am, but also has helped me to identify and to connect with the patients," Wert said.He chose pain management for a very special reason."I went into pain management because my father suffered from chronic pain since I was very little, and I felt like it would be a nice legacy to leave my father if I could help patients who suffered like he did," Wert said.Dr. Wert completed his medical education at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2010 and went on to complete an anesthesiology residency at Temple University Hospital in 2014.He was an instructor of anesthesiology and an attending anesthesiologist at Hahnemann University in 2015. Most recently, he received fellowship training in pain medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.Dr. Wert sees patients on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 120 Pine St. in Tamaqua, and Mondays and Wednesdays at St. Luke's Spine and Pain Associates at 830 Ostrum St. in Bethlehem,His specialties include treatment for back and neck pain, joint pain, disc herniations, spinal stenosis, pain after shingles and more.For information or to make an appointment, call 570-645-1510 or 484-526-7246 for the Bethlehem site.