RANDOLPH, Vt.—Rhonda Gale Whittie-Bradford, MD, MSPH, FACP, has joined Gifford Medical Center, providing inpatient care as part of the hospitalist team for the 25-bed Critical Access Hospital.
Bradford, who previously worked as a staff physician nocturnist with Gifford in a locum tenens position, or temporary role, was drawn to a permanent position after “falling in love with the staff and the community,” she said. “Our team and patients are just wonderful. I’ve been all over the country and this is one of the best communities.”
She describes her philosophy of care as rooted in empathy.
“I have complete empathy, and when you start from there, you understand what a patient feels, what they are going through, and can treat them appropriately,” said Bradford, who decided she wanted to practice medicine after witnessing how a physician treated her mother and grandmother for medical conditions at young ages.
Bradford is an American College of Physicians Fellow (FACP), a peer-reviewed and peer-supported credential reflecting excellence within the internal medicine profession. She also is a champion for military veterans and has received numerous service awards from the Department of the Army, including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service and Superior Civilian Service Award while with Northern Regional Medical Command in Fort Belvoir, Va., and Achievement Medal and Certificate for Civilian Service while with Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
In addition to her staff physician nocturnist role at Gifford, Bradford previously worked in similar roles at Shenandoah Memorial Hospital in Woodstock, Va.; at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kan.; at Valley Health Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va.; at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va.; and at hospitals in Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, and South Dakota. She held teaching roles in the Department of Internal Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colo. She earned her medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tenn.; a master’s degree in public health from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colo., where she additionally completed post-graduate training in internal medicine and preventive medicine; and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.
When not at work, Bradford enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, and watching movies.
For more information about inpatient care at Gifford, visit giffordhealthcare.org.
#
CONTACT: Maryellen Apelquist, Communications Manager,
###
Gifford is a community hospital in Randolph, Vt., with family health centers in Berlin, Bethel, Chelsea, Randolph, and Rochester, and specialty services throughout central Vermont. A Federally Qualified Health Center and a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the country, Gifford is a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency department and inpatient unit; many surgical services; an adult day program; 49-unit independent living facility, and a nursing home. The hospital’s mission is to improve individual and community health by providing and assuring access to affordable, high-quality health care in Gifford’s service area.
