After 13-year-old Nicole Feaster, of Leesburg, was stung on her foot by a stingray, she almost died from septic shock and, within three years, had to go through 20 surgeries. While her foot was remade at Georgetown University Hospital, she needed a local doctor who had the expertise to deal with her unusual situation.

Dr. Joseph Skoloff, who practices in Ashburn, was able to provide her with the medical care she needed. Skoloff was voted the best pediatrician in Northern Virginia by the Northern Virginia Magazine readers for the 2010 Best of NOVA awards. He has been practicing pediatrics for 40 years, 30 of them in Virginia.
Skoloff worked with Feaster’s doctors at Georgetown. Since re-making Feaster’s foot included taking bone, skin and muscle tissue from her hips and thighs, her medication was powerful. Skoloff helped her cope with the medication she took, which often gave her headaches and made her throw up.

Dr. Joseph Skoloff Photo Courtesy/Melanie Ranalli

“He always followed up after her visits to Georgetown,” says Susan Feaster, Nicole’s mother. “He took care of her entire body, not just her foot.”

Skoloff is actively involved in the medical community. He is an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University, George Washington University and the University of Virginia. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.

“I have watched children develop and mature into caring and trustworthy adults,” Skoloff said. “To know that so many people would trust me with the care of their children is an extra special honor to me and a goal I constantly work towards.”

Skoloff earned his medical degree from The Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia. He served for two years in the U.S. Air Force, becoming a major and serving as chairman for the Department of Pediatrics at the hospital on Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. He later worked in The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and then moved to Northern Virginia, joining a pediatric practice.

He also has served as vice chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and a chairman of the Infection Control Committee at the Inova Loudoun Medical Center.

Skoloff shares his medical knowledge through Twitter, Facebook and his blog site, drjoeskoloff.com. Anyone who follows his tweets will find out things like how to get their children to eat more fruits to help them get over feeling afraid of the dark.

“I always advise parents to keep an open line of communication between themselves and their children,” he said. “Spend as much time with them as possible.”