A community health perspective—in the U.S. and Honduras— coupled with the joys of living in a small city on a major lake.
Dr. Bridgette Wiefling, board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics, was hired by URMC to offer clinical care and conduct research and training in community health. She practices at the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, an inner city, federally funded health center for the underserved, where she introduces URMC residents to community medicine. In Honduras, she is working to improve the baseline health of a small community by designing a program that will involve URMC residents, nurses, and nurse practitioners.
How did you get so passionate about community health and working internationally?
I traveled internationally a fair amount when I was very young, but my Honduras connection had its genesis in Florida where I met some physicians active in Doctors Without Borders. They described some work under way in Honduras that needed a physician to take over.
Meanwhile, you've been equally committed to community health in Rochester?
True. I believe that empathy is learned, not taught, so the opportunity to work in a community health center here and help primary care residents develop a broader perspective on health care was very attractive to me.
You had substantial offers to go elsewhere after you completed your residency at URMC, right?
Sure. But Rochester is pretty unique.
I'm a sailor, so the chance to live right on the lake, race my boat, and practice community and international medicine the way I want to practice it...well, it's hard to beat the combination.
Continuing to Revolutionize Quality Care
After years of education, broadening and deepening what you know about medicine, you have every right to desire an affiliation with an organization that places quality care above all else. The University of Rochester Medical Center is that place.
Through an emphasis on the pivotal role of primary care physicians, coupled with the integration of superb specialty care and groundbreaking research, URMC patients and their physicians have access to one of the finest health care systems in the nation.