River Region Medical Center’s Dr. Dedri Ivory has been certified in rheumatology by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the hospital says.

To be certified, physicians must demonstrate they have the clinical judgment, skill and attitude essential for patient care.

Ivory is Vicksburg’s first rheumatologist earlier this year. She attended medical school at Ross University, completed her internal medicine residency at Akron General Hospital in Ohio, and completed a rheumatology fellowship at the University of Missouri at Columbia. She specializes in arthritis, osteoporosis, gout and other diseases that cause muscle, bone and joint pain.