2025 Rhoads Humanity in Medicine winner 'sets the bar very high'

“Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?”

As kids, our answers to that question can range from the fantastical to the practical. From the mundane to the aspirational. They often change as we grow up, mature, as impending adulthood forces us to take seriously a prompt that previously had set loose our imaginations.

Aaron Johnson and his three siblings used to get that question often from their dad as the family drove home from a ballgame or practice.

Johnson thought maybe he wanted to be a doctor, but that answer came with a question of its own: Could he do it?

“Back then I remember thinking, ‘Man, being a surgeon's going to be hard. I'm not sure I’ve got it in me,’” Johnson said. “But over all those times of being asked, maybe each time I gained a little bit more confidence.

“Somewhere along the way I said, ‘You know, that would be very cool to be a surgeon or be a physician and be able to help people. I don't know if I can do it, but I don't want to get to the end of my life and say I'm not sure if I could have done it. I want to know if I could have.’

“So the only way you're going to know is if you try to do it. And that's when I took off and started doing everything I could to be a physician.”

That resolve pushed Johnson down a winding path that took him from his home in southwest Ohio to Virginia, back home and then to Washington, D.C., and on to Richmond where he started his practice in urology and a family of his own.

And now to the 2025 Paul S. Rhoads Humanity in Medicine Award.

Dr. Johnson’s selection was announced tonight at Reid Health’s annual medical staff appreciation and new physician reception. Nominations were solicited from patients, physicians, and healthcare workers.

“Our patients are at the center of our organization. We’re people taking care of people, so recognizing those who serve our community well is critical and demonstrates the importance of what we do,” said Ben Wells, Reid Health President/CEO.

“Dr. Johnson carries the weight of being the sole urologist for the community and for our organization. That’s not an easy task,” said Billie Kester, Vice President/Ambulatory Care and Service Lines for Reid Health.

“It’s a significant contribution to Reid and to all those we serve. I’m very grateful for him.”

Named after its first honoree in 1983 – the late Paul S. Rhoads, MD – the Humanity in Medicine Award honors the memory of Dr. Rhoads for his service to patients and medicine. He was the founding director of Reid Health’s Medical Education Department and helped organize the hospice program and the Wayne County adult clinic for the indigent.
Dr. Johnson is the 45th recipient of the honor.

“I see the previous award winners and I have great respect for them. I see how much effort they put into their craft and their work,” he said.

“Just to be nominated is an honor. To be honest, I never thought I’d win it, so it's humbling. I'm very honored.”

Dr. Johnson was born and raised in Milford, Ohio – a small suburb about 16 miles east of downtown Cincinnati. His dad worked for General Electric, his mom a homemaker. Together, they became the standard to which he measures himself in his professional and personal lives.

“I was fortunate enough to be born into a very loving family, a very close-knit family,” Dr. Johnson said. “I was very fortunate to have great parents, two older brothers I looked up to, and a younger sister who’s very strong.

“From an early age, my dad really drove me to work hard. He was working and going to school, taking lecture courses to further his family along. That really motivated me to have a strong work ethic.

“And my mom’s been there for us our entire lives. No one loves their kids more than my mom, I can tell you that. I think that's why I love spending time with my kids, too. That comes from my mom.”

After graduating high school, Dr. Johnson chose Virginia Tech for college, a selection that checked all the boxes on his wish list – a bigger school, away from home, where he could follow his dad’s advice.

“My father – he's a very smart guy – he said, ‘You need a backup plan. If you're going into medicine, you need a backup plan,’” Dr. Johnson said. “He was an engineer, so he kind of persuaded me to study engineering.

“And I think part of me wanted to study it to kind of better understand my father and understand kind of what he went through. It gave me another perspective about how hard he had to work to make it to where he did.”

After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, it was time to fully chase the dream of being a physician. But his initial attempts to get into medical school were unsuccessful. Instead, he went home and took a job at General Electric.

“In hindsight, it was a blessing because I really cherish those two years. I learned a lot,” Dr. Johnson said.

“But more importantly I got to see exactly what my dad did. I never really knew that growing up. But I got to get in the facility and actually see what he did, which was super cool. And I wouldn't trade those two years for anything.”

Eventually, he was accepted into the medical school at Wright State University, a blessing of its own. Wright State required a two-week rotation in urology – something not done at many schools.

“I just fell in love with it,” Dr. Johnson said. “That's where I really saw urology was a super interesting field to be in. I never looked back.”

Residency took him to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he also completed an internship. But when it came time to find a place to start his practice, Dr. Johnson wanted to return to his roots.

“I knew I wanted to get back to the Midwest. I'm a Midwest guy through and through. I love the values of the Midwest,” he said. “Initially, I was concentrating mostly on Ohio, but I’d heard about Richmond. I knew a little bit about the area because one of my buddies actually played ball at Earlham.”

It didn’t take long after he arrived in town for an interview before Reid and the community had made an impression on him.

“Once I was on campus, that's when they had me,” he said. “It was a brand-new facility at that point, but more important were the people I met.

“You could tell people were very genuine here. You don't see that everywhere. I did a lot of interviews coming out of residency. I could tell the team was more like a family, and they really cared about providing quality care.”

A self-described grinder, Dr. Johnson jumped into his new role.

“He came right out of residency, and there were many times when he would come up to me and say, ‘Dr. Siegel, I've got this case. Have you ever done this?’ And I would say, ‘Well, yeah, I've done that.’ And then the next question, ‘Well, would you do that with me?’” said Urologist Tim Seigel, MD.

“He was always willing to tackle something new. He and I worked very well together, and a lot of that is due to Aaron.”

His colleagues at Reid’s Urological Care practice praise his work ethic and the interest he takes in his patients and their own well-being.

“Working alongside Dr. Johnson is truly a privilege,” said Jessica Miller, NP. “He sets the bar very high, and he’s passionate about his specialty and the patients we serve.

“Behind the scenes, he puts forth a great amount of time and effort. If you look out in the physician parking lot in the morning, his car will be the first one here. And a lot of times, it's the last car to leave at night. I think that says a lot about how much he pours into his work.”

“I feel like since we've worked together for so long, he can always tell when I'm having a bad day,” said Karrie Craig, Payer Authorization Specialist. “He'll pop in my office and say, ‘Is there anything I can do for you to make your day better?’ He's really dialed in to the whole office in general, so you can see the loyalty he has for us and all of us for him.”

Endocrinologist Erica Kretchman, DO, has an office just across the hall from Urological Care. She and her husband have become close friends with Dr. Johnson and his wife, Michelle, over the years. But her first experience with him was as a mother whose child was one of his patients.

“When we first met Aaron, it was actually to help care for our son, who was just an infant at the time,” Dr. Kretchman said. “I think I had barely started seeing patients here. Of course, when you're a physician mom with your child, I always kind of worried about what’s he going to need?

“And I remember just feeling completely calm and then recognizing this man was my colleague and thinking like, ‘If Reid hires people like this and I'm working with them, I know I made the right choice to work here.’ It was just kind of an amazing experience to meet my colleague in that way.”

The Johnsons’ two children, Lexi and Dylan, have themselves become close friends with Dr. Kretchman’s kids. The families try to get together once a month for “JAME (Jason – Dr. Kretchman’s husband, Aaron, Michelle, and Erica) Night.”

“I've seen him go to bat for things when he knows somebody really needs a treatment. Maybe it's something that’s difficult to get covered under their insurance or they're just not going to do well if they don't have this particular treatment. And I think that shows the compassion to just say, ‘I can't accept anything else but the best for the people I care for,’” Dr. Kretchman said.

“He’s really the best of everything. He’s so smart. He’s so passionate about his job. He’s so caring for his patients. He really likes his co-workers.

“I'm just so appreciative to have them as our close friends and as our colleagues, and that we get to laugh and get through the days together.”

Lately, Dr. Johnson has added to his daily routine, getting up even earlier in the morning to train for a 7K run on his upcoming 50th birthday. Typically, he likes to arrive at his office between 5-5:30 a.m. to do paperwork, check charts, and make sure everything is prepared for the day ahead.

“Fear of failure. I think that's probably the biggest thing that motivates me,” he said. “I don't want to be seen as someone who takes advantage of the system. I want to be known as someone who’s working hard.

“It means a lot to me to win this award because it really validates the work I’ve put in over the past 16 years, a lot of the sacrifices my family has had to make. So, I consider this not only an award for me but an award for my family and for my entire team that also works very hard and allows me to do what I do.”