Birmingham Area Doctor has devoted his life to helping the community

Birmingham Area Doctor has devoted his life to helping the community

Dr. Ronald Orso MD. of Mountain Brook, Alabama has committed his life to serve the Birmingham area as a doctor, through his church and in military service to his country.

According to MedHelp, Dr. Orso is a board-certified OB/GYN by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Surgeons. He is the past president or chairman of many societies and associations. Currently, he works at St. Vincent’s hospital for his practice along with helping out at other clinics.

Being born in Bessemer Alabama and living on a farm for most of his early life. When his mother died when he was 12, he moved in with one of his sisters, who was almost 10 years older than he was, and brother-in-law. He would go visit his other sister and brother-in-law who was in New Orleans at the time completing his residency to become a pediatric oncologist.

It was on one of those visits to his sister and brother-in-law that he started to want to become a doctor. He would join his brother-in-law, on both trips to the hospital and home trips as he was seeing patients in all parts of the city. Those trips mixed with the compassion and gentleness that his brother-in-law showed to patients made him realize that he wanted to be a physician.

Dr. Orso explained those summer trips to his sister and brother-in-law’s where his “brother-in-law who was a resident in pediatrics took me with him to the hospital and carried me with him on several home visits he made and impressed me so how kind and gentle he was to the children who were and their parents and this was made me want to become a physician,” He credits his “two outstanding, Christian and moral brothers-in-law that have helped guide me and help me” especially after his mother died.

From there Dr. Orso went on to Medical School at the University of Alabama, in Birmingham at the time. While in medical school he decided to specialize and become an OB/GYN as he saw that being a more sustainable path. To get through medical school, he and his family had to make sacrifices to help him complete his schooling and training.  His father worked extra jobs wherever he could find them and Dr. Orso was able to moonlight at the hospital, which was against the rules at the time. His upbringing has guided him to a life of service starting with the work ethic his father instilled in him and the examples that his two brothers-in-law set for him.

For Dr. Orso “it is every patient” that makes it so rewarding to have gone through the challenges of becoming a doctor. He is able to help his patients recover from illnesses or pain they might be in. Birmingham Medical News says that he has “delivered about 5000 babies” and he proudly said that “it was a blessing to do that every time” for him.

He has used his medical knowledge in the National Guard, where according to Birmingham OB/GYN, “he is a retired Colonel for the Alabama National Guard.” He joined the guard to ensure that he would finish medical school without being drafted. He was in the National Guard for 25 years before being sent to Operation Desert Storm where he served in an evac hospital and treated both US troops and Iraqis. While there he was a general medical officer and assisted other surgeons in the operating room. 

Even before going over to Saudi Arabia, he was an active volunteer in his community through his church. If a natural disaster impacted the area, Dr. Orso would usually go to help the affecting area even if he had to close his office to do so. He recalls when a tornado damaged a community in his hometown, and they needed a medical clinic, so he went to serve the area for a week. He has done most of this volunteer work through his church he has helped serve in the community including the above natural disaster help. He gives money to his church and charity to go with his work.

He has served at a local clinic that provided free medical services to those who may not have been able to afford it otherwise. This is another way that he gives back to his community using the skills and knowledge he has received as a doctor. Dr. Orso now works 3 jobs still at St Vincent’s Hospital as an OB/GYN but part-time at MedHelp Urgent Care and as a Medical Director at Expect Care Hospice.

Dr. Orso has made many friends throughout his life and they see how he has dedicated his life to better the Birmingham area. One of his longtime friends Christine Donaldson who has moved away from the area but still sees the impact that he has made on the community.

“I am very proud to be able to consider [Dr. Orso] a friend,” Ms. Donaldson said proudly, and she then referenced his upbringing “He’s been through a lot and had come out on top. It all made him stronger.” 

Another strong presence in Dr. Orso life is his wife of 45 years “who has been a rock for me” and has helped him raise three children and they now have eight grandkids. He credits his family for “encouraging me and leading me in the right direction.”

He has felt a calling to serve through his religious beliefs saying that “I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and I believe that all of us who believe in him automatically feel like we should help others in need.” Combining his call to serve with his work ethic has allowed Dr. Orso to continue to serve as he has gotten older, and he doesn’t see himself stopping anytime soon because as he puts it “It is just a wonderful feeling to do that [give to charity].