Brothers Working Side by Side to Help Patients

Anthony Rainey, MD, and Christian Rainey, MD, are brothers two years apart.

They went to the same college, attended the same medical school, picked the same specialty and chose to work in the same leading hospital system.

And now, after a day of seeing patients at LVH–Neurology 1250 Cedar Crest, they both walk down the hallway and take seats at their desks – which are two feet apart in the same small office.

What’s that like?

“I think it’s great,” says Christian, 31, looking over at his older brother with an easy smile. “Well, we’ve always been close,” says Anthony, 33, smiling and casting a sideways glance at his younger brother. “But before he came here, I did have this office to myself.”

They joke around about it, but it’s clear that the Rainey brothers like working together, and they really like working together at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), part of Jefferson Health.

“There’s a really robust neurology program here at Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute,” says Christian, who finished his neurology fellowship at LVHN in June. 

“There are many different neurological specialties right here in this hallway,” he says, gesturing up the row of doctors’ offices. “We also have excellent physician assistants and a genetic counselor embedded in this department. That’s just great for our patients.”

Anthony recalls that one of his training rotations as a medical student was at the hospital that is today LVH–Pocono, and says he is happy he was able to return to LVHN three years ago as an attending physician.

The brothers grew up in Scranton, attended Marywood University and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. They both did their post-graduate training in Florida, although at different programs. They consider themselves general neurologists, although Anthony also specializes in neuromuscular diseases and Christian has a special interest in neurophysiology.

For the Raineys, medicine is a family business. Their father is an occupational medicine physician and their mother is a dentist. They have a sister who is a physician assistant and various uncles and aunts who also are in medicine.

“Growing up in a medical family, it was always the dinner conversation,” Christian says, “so it became an obvious career path for us.” 

Marywood University, where their parents met, was nearby, and Geisinger was “just down the street,” so the brothers commuted to both schools to save expenses. 

It was also at the family dinner table that the Rainey brothers were instilled with the desire to practice in Pennsylvania, as a way of giving back and helping patients in their home state.

Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with diseases of the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. 

“This is an exciting time to be in neurology,” says Christian, “because there are always advances and new treatments that can be helpful to our patients. It’s really rewarding to be able to offer help in situations where perhaps in the past, there were no treatments.”

“Becoming a physician is a long process,” says Anthony. “But then you make it to the end and you graduate, and you finally get the chance to return and give back to your community.”