It’s Wednesday, which means we’re here for another #WomanCrushWednesday during Women’s History Month! Over the last two weeks, we’ve highlighted amazing women who are making an impact in society and local communities.
To continue the series, we’re crushing on a woman who Philadelphia Magazine has dubbed the Godmother of Community Health Outreach due to her ambitious involvement in vaccinating more than 51,000 people, almost all people of color, in hard-to-reach Philadelphian neighborhoods. Could you guess who it is? That’s right – our #WomanCrushWednesday is Ala Standford, Pediatric and General Surgeon at Jefferson Abington Hospital and founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.
Stanford is a true Philadelphia native, born and raised in Germantown, Philadelphia. Driven from an early age, Ala decided to pursue a career in Pediatric surgery. She began her medical journey at the Pennsylvania State University, where she finished her undergraduate work and received her medical degree. After graduating from Penn State University, Stanford completed her residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. All of her hard work paid off in the end when Stanford became the first African-American female pediatric surgeon to be trained entirely in the United States.
Stanford’s passion for helping others did not stop there. She was at the frontlines during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although Philadelphia had been one of the earliest cities to surpass President Biden’s Covid-19 plan, Dr. Stanford knew there were still many individuals in the city who still needed assistance, primarily the African American community and children. With the help of others passionate about this issue, she created the Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium. Here, their mission is to educate and advocate for African Americans to reduce the incidence of disease and death from coronavirus.
Since the very start of the pandemic back in 2020, Dr. Ala Stanford and the Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium members have brought testing and vaccines to more than 75,000+ residents in Philadelphia’s minority neighborhoods.
Ala’s determination, hard work, and service to Philadelphia communities during the Covid-19 pandemic continue to inspire others to help make a difference in their hometowns as well.
There’s no doubt as to why she is this week’s #WomanCrushWednesday! With only two weeks left in Women’s History Month, our next features are sure to inspire and educate everyone on the amazing women we truly have in history!
