Dr. Christine Pluta was born and raised in Lawrenceville, NJ, and has resided in Philadelphia for the past 20+ years. Upon completing her Bachelor of Science degree at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, she spent one year abroad in Spain doing lay missionary work with Cabrini Mission Corps. Upon her return, she completed her medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ - School Of Osteopathic Medicine (now Rowan SOM) and then completed a residency in family medicine, also at UMDNJ-SOM. She is board certified in family medicine, licensed in PA and NJ, and fluent in Spanish. She is a member of the American Academy of Home Care Physicians, American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.
After residency, Dr. Pluta spent two years in California working in health clinics that served the marginalized Latin American and Mexican population, including migrant workers and their families. In 2003, she returned to Philadelphia to work several years for a non-profit health clinic, again treating the underserved and uninsured. She continued to build her medical expertise by practicing family medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, while working part-time for a geriatric house call practice.
Her love for working with the home bound elderly prompted her to focus on geriatric house call medicine full-time. She is passionate about giving the quality, personalized, and compassionate care to the home bound that is often not possible in the fast-paced office environment.
Dr. Pluta established Schuylkill Medical Associates, LLC in 2007. Through her father's debilitating illness, she witnessed first-hand all that is involved with caring for a sick loved one, from the caregiver's struggles to sensitive end of life issues. The medical needs of our aging and home bound population are complex, and all too often this population of patients does not receive the personalized care that is needed. Dr. Pluta works to change that with each and every patient she meets.
With over twelve years of house call experience, she has made well over ten thousand home visits. She considers it an honor to help her patients on their journey as they age.
In her free time, Dr. Pluta loves spending time with her family, friends, nieces, and nephews. She is a dog-lover at heart and adores her Goldendoodle, Moby, who is a certified therapy dog through Comfort Caring Canines, and Rocky, her rescue Bernedoodle. She is proud to say that Moby was one of the first Therapy Dogs at Temple Hospital!
She believes in a healthy mind/body/soul lifestyle and has crossed several marathons and triathlons off of her bucket list. She loves running, swimming, weight-training, meditation, and playing piano for her Catholic church. Her company was named after the Schuylkill River where she logged many miles running over the past 20 years.
Shannon, who has her BS degree in health administration, has been Dr. Pluta's right-hand woman since 2012. A trusted colleague and resource to her patients, Dr. Pluta knows she could not run a successful house call practice without her. Shannon handles everything from phone triage to durable medical equipment orders and everything in between. She is the voice you will hear on the phone when you call the office during business hours.
Shannon and Dr. Pluta are in constant communication throughout the day via phone and computer. Together, they are committed to personalizing the care for each of their patients.