Time in Elmhurst: 45 years
Family: Three daughters: Osilia Cinta of Elmhurst, Lili Cinta of Lombard, Marta Markiewicks of Warren, Mich.; and three grandchildren
Education: Universidad Autonoma del Estado del Mexico Facultad de Medicina
Fifty years and 3,000 babies delivered since he first arrived at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center on the Lower West Side of Chicago, Fernando Cinta of Elmhurst still loves his job.
“I still love taking care of patients,” he said.
Cinta began his career back when SMEMC was just St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital Center in 1955. Upon the completion of his residency, he began his primary specialty of family medicine.
From delivering babies to caring for the elderly, Cinta said he has done it all, which is what he wanted growing up in Mexico aspiring to be a doctor.
“I wanted to be a doctor since I was small,” he said.
After Cinta came to the United States and began his career, he opened his own office, formerly a mechanic’s garage, in the Pilsen area of Chicago, which is 85 percent Hispanic.
“I wanted to practice in an area with mostly Spanish-speaking people,” he said.
Cinta said he worked 80 hours a week when he first started out. Despite 50 years on the job, he’s now cut his time down to five days a week.
Cinta also has seen huge changes in the medical field over his career. From diagnostic testing to imaging patients, Cinta has adapted his craft to new technologies.
The biggest change though, Cinta said, might have come from the insurance industry.
“When I started I was paying $250 a year in liability insurance,” he said. “Now it’s $75,000 a year ... it’s really hard to practice nowadays.”
Notable
Dr. Fernando Cinta of Elmhurst has been serving as a family medicine doctor for the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago for 50 years and beyond.
Quotable
“The changes in the medical area are tremendous”
Philosophy
In medicine, you have to like taking care of people and helping people
Favorites
Medical innovation: New imaging technology
Book: Medical books
Sports team: White Sox
Thing to do in your free time: Golf
