PCOM Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program Commencement

Those who are unable to attend the event in person are invited to view the ceremony live stream, which will occur on the same date and time on PCOM's Facebook page and the College's YouTube channel.

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Ala Stanford, MD, FACS, FAAP

Pediatric surgeon Ala Stanford, MD, FACS, FAAP, gained recognition for providing coronavirus tests and distributing vaccines to Philadelphia’s most vulnerable and hardest-hit neighborhoods during the global pandemic. Dr. Stanford formed the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium (BDCC) in response to the disproportionate number of African Americans being diagnosed with and dying from COVID-19 in Philadelphia—and the lack of swift intervention to mitigate the spread of the virus among underserved city residents. Although Black and Brown residents were suffering disproportionately, the majority of the testing sites were in affluent white neighborhoods.

With a rented van and personal protection equipment from her office, Dr. Stanford created her own testing sites, setting up shop in church parking lots. When a vaccine became available, she then held walk-up vaccination clinics in locations convenient for the city’s minority residents. To date, Dr. Stanford’s group has tested more than 25,000 and vaccinated more than 55,000 Philadelphians—more than 80 percent of whom are people of color.

The BDCC’s focus has since expanded to address other long-standing health disparities and challenges that plague communities of color. What began as a mobile grassroots effort to help the underserved withstand the pandemic has evolved into a brick-and-mortar primary care clinic, the Dr. Ala Stanford Center for Health Equity (ASHE) in North Philadelphia. The 10,000-square-foot facility aims to provide a one-stop shop for preventive care, behavioral health and social services.

Dr. Stanford’s work has drawn praise from the Surgeon General of the United States, Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy and Assistant Secretary of Health, Admiral Rachel Levine. In April 2022, President Joseph Biden appointed Dr. Stanford to lead the United States Department of Health and Human Services Region 3 office, which covers all of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

A practicing physician for more than 24 years, Dr. Stanford is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in both pediatric and adult general surgery. As the owner of Stanford Pediatric Surgery, she cares for and operates on newborns and children through 18 years of age and those with congenital conditions through adulthood.

Her research, which has focused on how health disparities influence health outcomes, has been published in many peer-reviewed medical journals. She is also an avid lecturer and presenter.

Dr. Stanford also serves on the CDC Philadelphia Department of Public Health COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee. She previously served as the Director of the Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities at Temple University.

Dr. Stanford teaches medical students and residents at the University of Pittsburgh, The Pennsylvania State University, Milton S. Hershey College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has served as assistant professor of surgery at Temple University Children’s Medical Center, and as associate professor of pediatrics/assistant professor of surgery at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.

In 2014, Dr. Stanford founded a specialty practice, R.E.A.L. Concierge Medicine, to provide discreet personalized healthcare services for business executives, athletes and A-list entertainers throughout the United States and abroad.

She is founder of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization It Takes Philly, Inc., which focuses on professional and personal development of youth in urban and suburban areas with limited resources. She has led medical mission trips to Haiti and heads the medical triage ministry at Salem Baptist Church, Abington, Pennsylvania. Dr. Stanford also serves as a medical correspondent for local and national news outlets.

Dr. Stanford holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a doctor of medicine degree from Penn State University. She was the first African American woman to complete her adult general surgery training at the University of Pittsburgh, and when she completed her pediatric surgery fellowship, Dr. Stanford was one of two African American women pediatric surgeons in North America.

For questions regarding the commencement ceremony, contact Ashley Jones at ashleyjo@pcom.edu.