UP Health System – Marquette Welcomes Issam El Bizri, MD, to Direct Healthy Aging Program

UP Health System – Marquette (UPHS – Marquette), a Duke Lifepoint hospital, is pleased to announce physician Issam El Bizri, MD, has joined its medical staff at UP Medical Group | Marquette Medical Specialists. Dr. El Bizri is board certified in internal and geriatric medicine, with specialized training in lifestyle medicine, and will help patients achieve optimal health and wellness in all stages of life through the new Healthy Aging Program.

Dr. El Bizri earned his Doctorate in Medicine (MD) at the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon. After medical school, he moved to the United States to receive his post-graduate medical training, completing a residency in internal medicine at Kansas University in Wichita, KS. Prior to joining UPHS – Marquette, Dr. El Bizri held internal medicine positions in New Hampshire before completing his fellowship in geriatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. Following that time, he was an attending physician and faculty at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH, and volunteered as a hospitalist during the COVID pandemic at Vanderbilt University.

"I am passionate about preventive healthcare and taking a proactive, highly personalized approach that empowers my patients to achieve optimal health and quality of life. I also believe in education and collaboration within my community that encourages healthier lifestyles for all.”

In his practice, Dr. El Bizri will work closely with referring providers and patients' primary care providers to be an additional layer of support for patients to become healthier or greatly reduce the risk of chronic health conditions—such as type II diabetes and heart disease—altogether. His specializations include detailed health risk assessments; chronic disease diagnosis, management and treatment; longevity medicine; and healthy behavior/lifestyle education and/or referrals for mental well-being, social connection, healthy eating and physical activity.

"To me, aging is beautiful, it's part of the natural process of life, but what we're seeing more and more often is people are aging unhealthfully and faster than what is considered normal,” said Dr. El Bizri. “With this program, I aim to help adult patients recognize health risks and slow the course of aging as much as possible by changing habits that are within their control and establishing healthy lifestyles. The desired goal would be to see these lifestyle changes impact generations of families and friends to come, and to create a community that supports preventive healthcare through collaboration and partnership.”

Outside of work, Dr. El Bizri enjoys the outdoors with his family, and becoming a well-rounded athlete.

“My wife and I are grateful to be living and working in the Upper Peninsula and raising our family here,” said Dr. El Bizri. “We have family ties to the area and are excited to have access to healthy recreational activities, both in the outdoors, as well as through organizations like Northern Michigan University, the YMCA and more.”

Dr. El Bizri joins the skilled and experienced team at UP Medical Group | Marquette Medical Specialists, who focus on primary care, nephrology, geriatrics, rheumatology, and more, respectively. The practice is located in the Peninsula Medical Center at 1414 W. Fair Ave, Ste. 344, Marquette, MI 49855. Patients interested in scheduling an appointment can call 906.449.1300. A referral may be required. Learn more about the Healthy Aging Program.