Vivi Stafford, MD, EMHA

Vivi Stafford

Name: Vivi Stafford

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Undergraduate: University of Southern California 

Hobbies? Skiing, Classical Piano, Traveling, Film, Reading, Acting

Languages you speak? Spanish

Furthest I've traveled from home? Antarctica  

Favorite activity in the Twin Cities? Live Theater

Why I chose this specialty? I feel that my specialty chose me rather than I chose my specialty. I had a desire in medicine to treat patients with the goal of improving community health. I eventually committed to earning an Executive Masters in Health Administration. I currently am completing a UCSF and the California Department of Public Health Fellowship in being a healthcare champion physician of Kings County in the nations leading agricultural region, the San Joaquin Valley. My goal is to improve the general health of the community through healthcare policies and change.

Why Medicine? At the University of Southern California, I majored in Anthropology. My senior thesis paper was on doctor-patient relationships in the inner city. I was very impressed with the compassion of the doctors and the honesty of the patients. Most patients wanted to team up with the doctor with a shared goal of the patients overall improved health. I was highly impressed with how the physician contributed to the patients in so many ways from gaining the patient's trust to focusing on their patients feeling better emotionally and also physically. Over the years, I have learned that a physician can help patients on a face to face level and also can help patients through policies. For example, the Affordable Care Act has a goal of improving healthcare outcomes while mitigating costs. As a result this ultimately can improve the health of the nation by improving access through decreased hospital stays and greater funding in regards to healthcare access for all. Knowing a physician can treat patients “one on one” and also in terms of shaping community policies is a positive reinforcement that medicine is a multifaceted career. The direction in a healthcare profession as a provider can continuously reshape itself throughout decades with a common goal of helping others. This is not only why I chose medicine but why I continue to find the career choice tremendously gratifying over the years.