Dr. James Salway

“I love emergency medicine because of the pace and the variety of conditions we are responsible for diagnosing every day,” Dr. Salway says. “Emergency medicine also lends itself to interventions that can make a concrete difference in a person’s life in a short period of time.”

Dr. Salway didn’t initially plan to become a doctor. He first earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science and Government at Colgate University before moving to Brazil, where he interned at an infectious disease clinic focused on tropical diseases. He soon fell in love with the work of helping people, prompting a return to the United States to pursue medicine.

Dr. Salway completed a post-baccalaureate premed program at Columbia University and earned his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at Los Angeles County Hospital and University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

Upon the completion of his residency, his education continued, taking him to the Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale in Italy for a Masters program in Disaster Medicine, and to SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University for a fellowship in disaster medicine and emergency preparedness. He further completed fellowship training in quality improvement and patient safety at Harvard Medical School.

“Patients are often uncomfortable or scared when they see us, and they’ve usually Googled their symptoms and are worried. My job is to establish a therapeutic relationship with them in a short period of time, recognizing where the patient is, making sure they feel heard, doing a comprehensive exam, and explaining the findings to them,” Dr. Salway says. “I always want people to know there is a concrete plan to help them feel better or to find out what’s going on with them so they can be reassured we’re going to take care of them.”

After his training, Dr. Salway worked as Director of Disaster Medicine for the Emergency Department at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn before becoming the Senior Director of Emergency Management at New York City Health and Hospitals’ central office. There, he oversaw clinical operations whenever New York’s public hospitals faced emergent situations and served as a clinical lead for the system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Salway has also served as an Attending Emergency Physician at several New York City hospitals and as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at SUNY Downstate. Caring for thousands of medically complex patients from a wide range of backgrounds taught Dr. Salway to connect with each individual and quickly understand their needs.

In 2021, Dr. Salway joined Sollis Health as an Attending Physician and appreciated the opportunity to spend more time with patients and connect with them on an ongoing basis. He moved into the preventive and longevity medicine world to continue this focus, becoming Medical Director at Springs Rejuvenation, a regenerative medicine clinic, and then Medical Director at Extension Health, a longevity-focused practice in Manhattan.

“Having spent so much time in the emergency department, I was used to seeing the end results of diseases,” Dr. Salway says. “What we can do with longevity medicine is try to prevent you from developing those diseases in the first place.”

At Atria, Dr. Salway enjoys working with a team that keeps proactive care at the forefront of everything they do. Delivering urgent care in settings where patients feel the most comfortable helps him build lasting relationships with them and keep them healthy over the long term.

“Getting to know patients and having patients get to know me is one of my favorite parts of this work. At Atria, we have the luxury of time and can form those relationships that make medicine so special,” he says.

Dr. Salway is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, and when he’s not working, he enjoys paddleboarding and spending time with his wife and two children.