Dr. William Hartzell started the Fairfax Lung Center in March 2009.  He established his practice in the traditional fashion–putting up his shingle and growing his patients through excellent care with a personal touch.  His goal is to bring back the traditional doctor-patient relationship where patients feel they are much more than just a number.  He believes that good medicine is delivered through the development of a partnership with his patients.  A good partnership takes listening and understanding.  Expect to hear “What do you mean?” and “Do you have any questions?” during an appointment with Dr. Hartzell.  A patient focused approach combined with expert knowledge is at the core of Dr. Hartzell’s practice.  At the Fairfax Lung Center we take our responsibility for the patient seriously and work hard to fulfill that obligation. 

Dr. Hartzell is from the Great Lake state of Michigan.  He matriculated at Kalamazoo College and graduated with a major in Chemistry.  He spent two years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studying Vitamin C.  He went to medical school at the Medical College of Virginia (now VCU School of Medicine).  He underwent medical training for both his internship and residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.  He further specialized his area of expertise by pursuing a fellowship in pulmonary medicine at the University of North Carolina and at Barnes Hospital.  He returned to medical research in the field of host defense and matrix metalloproteinase-12. His research lead to a publication as a lead author in the Journal “Nature.”  He has been on faculty at Brigham Women’s Hospital with an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School, where he was involved in pulmonary transplant medicine.  He returned to Virginia in 2007 to start his pulmonary practice at Fair Oaks Hospital where he has been practicing since.  He is married with two children.  His office is shared with his wife, who is an ophthalmologist (that explains the glasses in the office).  Dr. Hartzell practices what he preaches and stays physically active with swimming, tennis and is an avid scuba diver.  He enjoys spending time with his family and when time allows helps manage the family cattle farm in Western Virginia.