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Based at St. Luke’s Monroe Campus and in Lehighton, he serves as the team physician for Jim Thorpe, Mahanoy Area, Marian Catholic, Northern Lehigh and Tamaqua high schools.
Dr. Hercules specializes in non-surgical fracture care, concussion management, acute treatment for sprains and strains, overuse injuries, return-to-play decisions after injury or illness, pre-participation sports examinations and soft tissue injections/aspirations.
“I went to an osteopathic medical school, so I can offer patients with certain cases of aches and pains immediate relief with hands-on manipulative therapy,” Dr. Hercules said. “I’m a big fan of all the non-operative surgical care treatments, including the use of corticosteroid injections.”
Dr. Hercules graduated from Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine after earning his undergraduate work at Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and minors in chemistry and classics.
He completed his residency in Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy at CarePoint Health Christ Hospital in Jersey City, N.J., followed by a Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at St. Luke’s.
During his St. Luke’s fellowship, he worked as a team physician with Easton High School, Moravian College as well as with St. Luke’s 5K and Half Marathon and the Runner’s World 5K, 10K and Half Marathon.
“The good things about being a primary care sports physician is that it’s not just sports, I see the general population as well,” Dr. Hercules explained. “I see normal patients every day who are injured at home or work. It’s more like total orthopedic care.”
At CarePoint, the osteopathic-based family medicine residency allowed him to also work on common medical issues like diabetes and blood pressure while treating a diverse population from many different backgrounds.
Forming a personal connection with patients is important to Dr. Hercules, and learning about different cultures during his residency greatly impacted his approach to patient care.
“You have to be able to communicate effectively if you’re going to treat patients properly, regardless of your expertise,” he said. “As a primary care sports physician, that strong connection with patient allows me to reinforce the diagnosis and treatment options.”
That approach fits in perfectly with St. Luke’s philosophy of promoting injury prevention and a healthy lifestyle while caring for athletes and non-athletes.
“I chose St. Luke’s because I wanted to be at a place where you felt like you were part of a family and not just another number,” Dr. Hercules said. “St. Luke’s offers that family feeling to the community, the physicians and the administrators.
Services
Providing care and treatment for acute injuries, overuse injuries, concussion management, return-to-play decisions after illness or injury, athletes with acute and chronic illnesses, pre-participation sports examination and soft tissue injections/aspirations.
New Patient Appointments
New patients can schedule an appointment with Dr. Hercules by contacting St. Luke’s Orthopedic Care at 484-526-1735.
Media Contact:
Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org
About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network providing services at nine hospitals and more than 300 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue of $1.7 billion, the network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is a major teaching hospital – the only one in the Greater Lehigh Valley. In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus. It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 23 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 189 residents. Repeatedly, including 2017, St. Luke’s earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital and 50 Top Cardiovascular Program designations, in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s, utilizing the EPIC electronic medical record (EMR) system, is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.
