Lori Schimmel, DO
Emergency Department Mercy Joplin
As an emergency medicine physician and medical
director of the Mercy Joplin emergency department, Dr.
Lori Schimmel is an expert at thinking on her feet.
“The biggest challenge that we experience in the
emergency department is being prepared to treat
a person of any age, with any problem, at any time,”
she said. “We have an excellent team with diverse
skill sets and a vast knowledge base.”
Dr. Schimmel said she enjoys the variety practicing
emergency medicine in the Joplin community provides.
“Growing up, I was always fascinated with disease – what
caused it, the symptoms, how you treated it,” she said.
Dr. Schimmel began her career caring for people as a
registered nurse. She graduated with an associate degree
in Nursing from Redlands Community College in 1995. She
went on to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from
Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 2000.
Her desire to become more knowledgeable about disease
states and the effect on the individual led her to further her
education and broaden her academic horizon.
She was accepted into medical school at Oklahoma State
University Center for Health Sciences in 2003. Dr. Schimmel
completed medical school in 2007, and then began
an emergency medicine residency at Oklahoma State
University Medical Center.
She has been a part of the emergency department team at
Mercy Joplin since July 2015 and became medical director
in September 2018.
Dr. Schimmel said her husband and son have been her
greatest source of support and strength during the long
journey that led her to the position she currently holds as
medical director of the emergency department.
Mercy offers emergency care services at Mercy Hospital Joplin,
Mercy Hospital Carthage and Mercy Hospital Columbus”