The new rules state that for any immigration medicals completed on or after May 1, 2024, a Polio booster (IPV) is required for all applicants aged 2 months and older, including all adults, unless proper documentation is provided of previous primary vaccination.
Steven Wittenberg Gordon, MD has been a United States Civil Surgeon over twenty years and has performed over 10,000 immigration medical exams and related services. A first generation American, Steve made the decision to devote about 100% of his private medical practice to Civil Surgeon services in memory of his father, who was a refugee and Holocaust survivor.
Steve is originally from a small town in upstate New York, but his heart now belongs to Kansas where he owns his home, and raised his children. A minor heart defect kept Steve from joining the military right out of high school, so he took a different career path and decided to attend college. He obtained a BA in biology at Amherst College and then returned to the city nearest to where he grew up to earn his MD at Albany Medical College. He completed his residency training in family practice (now called family medicine) in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Returning "back east" from Wisconsin, Steve began his career as a private practice physician in Connecticut and later back in upstate New York. At the turn of the century, his heart defect was surgically corrected, which allowed Steve to fulfill his boyhood dream of military service. He joined the United States Air Force in 2000, where he served with distinction as a flight surgeon. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and separated with an honorable discharge in 2005. The former Major Gordon is now a proud member of the American Legion.
Shortly after separating from the Air Force, Steve settled in Overland Park, Kansas and established a successful private primary care practice, at first in a rental space, and later out of the den/study of his personal home. Steve enjoys his short commute (walking down the stairs!) and the additional flexibility and availability his cozy home office allows him in attending to his patients.
When not practicing medicine or spending time with his family, Steve may usually be found either writing or struggling with his weight. Steve hit the literary scene in 2012 and since then has become an accomplished poet and writer, having had dozens of poems and many short stories published. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the online magazine Songs of Eretz Poetry Review and is currently revising his first novel, a swashbuckling high fantasy tale.
Since leaving the Air Force, Steve's weight has ballooned out of control and is a daily struggle for him. The silver lining to this otherwise dark cloud is that being overweight himself has allowed Steve to empathize with his many patients who suffer from the same affliction. He is currently focusing on strength training and portion control and has achieved a modicum of success.