News

Vinnie Peyko running race

Running for Peyton

Vincent Peyko, Pharm.D. (‘11), a clinical pharmacy specialist in emergency medicine at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital in Youngstown, has a special way of raising awareness for causes near to his heart. Over the years, Dr. Peyko (pictured above, running the New York City Marathon) has completed five full marathons to benefit organizations such as the Second Harvest Food Bank  and urban youth fitness programs in New York.

This year, he’s competing for someone close to home.

On July 22, Dr. Peyko will take on a new adventure, the IRONMAN triathlon in Lake Placid, New York, in honor of his next-door neighbor Peyton, a seventh grader with ulcerative colitis. As Dr. Peyko trains to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles, he hopes his participation in the triathlon will raise awareness and funds for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

“We fight disease through awareness, research, grit and the help of others,” says Dr. Peyko.

Growing up during the Hepatitis C crisis and at the tail end of the HIV epidemic, Dr. Peyko knows first-hand that “the battle” can be won.

A former infectious disease specialist, Dr. Peyko has become a champion for those with conditions thought to be incurable. “It is a constant battle. Some days are better than others, but the battle never ends. I see these patients every day, I know their plight, and I know they need a voice,” says Dr. Peyko.

Read more on why Dr. Peyko is running for Peyton.