October 24, 2025 • 40 mins
Dr. Ralph Ford, chancellor of Penn State Behrend, talks with Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon and Alumni Fellow, about her work with the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she served as a regional director.
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Dr. Ralph Ford (00:00):
I'm Dr.
Ralph Ford, Chancellor of PennState Behrend, and you are
listening to Behrend Talks,where we connect with leaders,
innovators, and thinkers who areshaping the world.
Today we have a very, veryspecial guest, and that is Dr.
Ala Stanford, a pediatricsurgeon and founder of the Black
Doctors COVID-19 consortium.
And first, I'm going to gothrough a lot of this, Ala, but
(00:22):
welcome to the show.
Dr. Ala Stanford (00:24):
Thank you for having me.
It's nice to be back.
Dr. Ralph Ford (00:26):
Well, you're here on a beautiful day in
October, and uh, you know, youwere a commencement speaker a
few years ago.
We always love having you oncampus.
Also, tell our audience you'reyou're speaking here on campus
tonight, too, so a lot going on.
Dr. Ala Stanford (00:38):
Yes, indeed.
Excited to see everybody.
Excited to be one of thespeakers in your leadership
series.
Dr. Ralph Ford (00:45):
So thank you so much.
Well, I'm gonna give ouraudience a little bit about your
background.
Uh, of course, you came uh to alot of national attention
actually during the COVID-19pandemic in an effort to provide
testing.
We're gonna talk all about thisin later vaccinations to
Philadelphia's most vulnerableresidents uh during the height
of the pandemic.
(01:05):
You later went on to serve asthe regional director of the
U.S.
Department of Health and HumanServices, where you oversaw
federal health programs in fivestates.
And uh, you know, you startedhere at Behrend.
Uh, you are a faculty member atthe University of Pennsylvania.
That's relatively new.
So uh another, you know,advance in your career.
(01:28):
And recently you just announcedthat you're running for
Congress.
So a whole lot to talk abouttoday.
That is true, boys.
Sounds like a whole lot whenyou say that.
Well, there is, but let's starteasy.
Let's talk about, you know,it's uh you're you're here with
your son today, who's actuallyvisiting campus and thinking
about coming here.
But you came here many yearsago from Philadelphia.
(01:51):
Probably didn't know much aboutBehrnd.
Tell us what your path was toPenn State Behrend.
Dr. Ala Stanford (01:56):
First again, thank you for having me and
welcoming me and my I my son.
It's a little surreal as Istepped on campus at 17, and he
is 17 and he's here.
Wow.
Dr. Ralph Ford (02:08):
Wow.
That's that's a little historyrings, they say, right?
Dr. Ala Stanford (02:13):
So for me, Penn State was because I knew I
wanted to be a doctor from thetime I was about eight years
old.
And the only person I knew whohad gone to Penn State was a
cousin of mine.
And I said, if that's what ittakes to become a doctor, that's
exactly what I'm going to doit.
When I looked at a map, therewere all the Penn State
(02:36):
campuses, and Erie was thefurthest from Philadelphia.
So that's the one I picked.
And honestly, that's why Ipicked it because I was ready to
get out of the house.
I was ready to be independent,to be on my own, and I didn't
want to be super close to myfamily.
I mean, this is true story.
And so I don't think I had evervisited, but when my mom
(02:59):
dropped me off, I said she wascrying.
I said, see you later.
I'm exactly where I want to be.
And uh, as they say, the restis history.
Dr. Ralph Ford (03:07):
It is, and you did a lot while you were here.
We'll get into that.
But uh, did you had you visitedcampus or did you just apply
and showed up, you know, at theat the start?
Do you remember that?
Dr. Ala Stanford (03:17):
Really, I I don't believe I visited not
Behrend or University Park.
I think um it might have beentoo expensive.
You had to get like a greyhoundor like trailways, bus, you
know, sort of to migrate upthrough Pennsylvania.
And um I just, you know, I knewwhat was in the book, what was
(03:38):
in the catalog, and I was readyto come and ready to start my
journey to become a physician.
Dr. Ralph Ford (03:44):
So you said when you were eight years old you
knew you wanted to be aphysician.
Was there some experience, oryou just, you know, you saw it
on TV.
What was it that you knew?
Dr. Ala Stanford (03:53):
Well, it's a couple things.
So for one, in Philly, sort ofwhen you're an impoverished kid,
everyone goes to the healthcenter.
So we went to maybe healthcenter number five, which I
still think is so impersonal,but it's health center number
eight, number nine, whatever.
And there was a doctor therewho was a black woman, and she
(04:14):
seemed so relaxed, and sheseemed happy and put together.
She had on nice clothes, and Ihad never seen someone like her
before who was a black woman,except my mom who was working
hard and definitely did not lookrelaxed like this woman.
And so that was part of it.
And then the other part was inschool in the Philadelphia
(04:38):
Public School System, when youdid well on your exams, it
seemed like the teachers paidattention to you more and you
wanted that.
And then we had thisacademically talented AT or
mentally gifted student.
So if you tested into that, youone day a week got to do
something outside of yourneighborhood.
(04:59):
And for me, it was to go toWest Philly on Drexel's campus
and spend a day shadowing acollege student, which opened so
many doors for me.
And so it was a combination ofseeing someone who looked like
me, seemingly happy, being on adifferent part of Philadelphia
(05:22):
where people seemed to be betteroff, and tying in that my mind
and my education and my studyingwas how I could get to that.
So I liked science, but I wastired of being poor.
And it seemed like to me, if Iinvested that maybe I could get
(05:44):
to some of these things I wasseeing around me, like the
doctor at the health center andlike the college students at
Drexel.
Dr. Ralph Ford (05:51):
You know, seeing the role models super key.
But also we find, you know, wewe invest a lot of effort
getting kids to campus whenthey're young, just so it's not
this big intimidating place, sothat they can see that there are
people like them here and hearfrom students.
And uh, so you got to Erie, itcouldn't be further away from
Philadelphia.
You went from the East Coast tothe West Coast.
(06:12):
So, what was it like when yougot here?
What sort of environment didyou find?
Dr. Ala Stanford (06:16):
Well, I like that the campus was big enough,
but not so big that I got lost.
I found other kids who werealso from Philly, so we had our
our little click, if you will.
I like that in my dorm, and Idon't know if you could still do
it, you were able to paint amural on your wall.
(06:36):
So I did that.
What else?
Obviously, the cafeteria.
Dr. Ralph Ford (06:42):
Cafeteria looked a whole lot different.
It was very institutionallooking.
I wasn't here, but I saw theremnant 10 years later.
Dr. Ala Stanford (06:48):
Absolutely.
But there were other things,like there was a Miss Penn State
Behrend, which I was in.
I did not win, but I still havepictures.
I was like first or secondrunner-up.
Dr. Ralph Ford (06:57):
We don't have that anymore.
Dr. Ala Stanford (06:58):
Oh, okay.
Well, I was part of that.
There was a fashion show forBlack History Month.
I remember that, and there mayhave been a black student union
here.
What I really remember, and I'mgonna talk about this a bit
tonight, were the speakers thatcame.
And two speakers that stood outfor me were Julian Bond, who
(07:20):
was part of the SouthernChristian Leaders Conference
with the Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King.
And I remember, you know, beinga teenager, just excited to
hear him speak.
And the other person I remembercoming to Behrend was Shirley
Chisholm, who was one of thefirst or the only black, well,
that's not true, because nowKamala Harris to run for
(07:42):
president, and she was acongressional leader.
And so those two speakers cameto Behrend, and this is like 19
uh, you know, a 19 number.
Um, and so I remember that Iremember applying to be a lion
ambassador, and that that was avery prestigious group to be a
(08:02):
part of.
I love the sweaters.
I love the sweaters, and ofcourse, track, and I know I'm
like talking, but you asked meabout Behrend.
Dr. Ralph Ford (08:12):
But you know, I we have to talk about track and
field.
Dr. Ala Stanford (08:15):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for me in high school, itwas that place I could escape
to, that I could find friends,and there wasn't a track team
here.
So I remember learning abouthow to establish a club, how to
have an advisor, what were thesurrounding teams we would
compete against, and was part ofthat early development of a
(08:38):
track club at Penn State.
I remember being educated onwhich lion we could put on the
jersey, which color it could be,and all those steps, and
definitely competing in a meetor two.
So those are some of my fondmemories of Penn State.
Dr. Ralph Ford (08:55):
Well, I'll tell you, you know, you are credited,
and we'll make sure it goesdown in the history books with
the person who started the trackand field club, which has now
grown into a very significanttrack and field team uh here at
Behrend that continues tothrive.
And the other thing is I I didwas not aware that Julian Bonn
or you know, Chisholm spokehere, but that's also
(09:15):
interesting to know.
By the way, also Maya Angelouspoke at one of our
commencements, and uh thatpreceded me as well, too.
So we've really had someimpactful people over the years.
Dr. Ala Stanford (09:25):
And I have to say, in a time when it may not
have been popular, do you knowwhat I mean?
Like 1988, 1989, and I'm surein all the archives you can dig
this up.
But the reason why I know is Iremember this is gonna be funny,
how I was wearing my hair atthe time.
And so when I look at thosepictures of me with Julian Bond
(09:48):
or with Shirley Chisholm, it wasright here.
Yeah, it was right here.
Dr. Ralph Ford (09:52):
Right here.
And now you're back in thatvery same speaker series.
So think about that.
You would have never imaginedthat.
Oh, so a lot of full circlemoments here.
Yeah, yeah, a lot of fullcircle moments.
You then go from here toUniversity Park, you get your
degree at Penn State Med, andyou become the first black
female pediatric surgeon.
Dr. Ala Stanford (10:12):
I'll let you explain it.
Yeah, yeah.
So it's you know, let mecorrect.
So, first black woman pediatricsurgeon entirely trained in the
United States.
You never think about that whenyou're in school.
But that's I think one of mymentors said that to me once and
said, yes, there was Dr.
(10:33):
Andrea Hayes-Dixon who finishedin Canada.
But when I finished in 06, wewere the only two for years, you
know.
And she's Andrea, and I'm Ala.
And so it was always the well,which, you know, which one is
it?
It's both our names begin andend in A.
(10:54):
But I was very proud of that.
Uh, to be board certified inboth adult general surgery and
pediatric surgery is no smallfeat.
Um, and to be able to have theprivilege of someone entrusting
their child to you is somethingI I don't take for granted.
Dr. Ralph Ford (11:16):
Yeah.
So huge responsibility.
And so then you start yourpractice in the Philadelphia
area?
Dr. Ala Stanford (11:22):
Yes.
So originally when I finished,I went back to Philly.
I worked at Temple UniversitySchool of Medicine.
I was at Abington Hospital,part of Jefferson.
I worked at St.
Christopher's Hospital forChildren and the Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia.
So in Philly, there's like fivemedical schools, so you just go
back and forth between them.
(11:43):
But somewhere in there, when mychildren were old enough to
talk, they would say to me, myyoungest said, Mom, are you
gonna be here when I wake up inthe morning?
And that came because I wouldalways leave in the middle of
the night to go in and operateand things like that.
And after you operated and thechild was in the neonatal
(12:06):
intensive care unit or the ICU,you had to make sure they were
stable.
So my kids would wake up andcome to my room and I wasn't
there.
It was with that that I leftworking for the hospital and
started my own private practice.
And the reason I did it was soI could control my schedule.
And so I could say, I'm gonnabe on call this time to this
(12:29):
time.
I'm gonna start operating atnine in the morning instead of
six or seven in the morning, soI could at least wake up, make
breakfast, get my kids ready forschool, then go to work, and
then come home and be home whenthey got off the bus.
And it's not as lucrative whenyou do it that way.
But what my young child wastelling me at five was that he
(12:53):
missed me and he wanted to seeme more.
And that's how I went intoprivate practice.
Wow.
Dr. Ralph Ford (12:58):
And what you I'm sure you learned a lot.
There were probably a lot ofchallenges with starting your
own private practice at thattime.
Dr. Ala Stanford (13:04):
Oh my goodness.
Well, the first thing I cantell the entrepreneur is for
whatever field, you usually makeno money in the first year or
two, and you really need to saveup because your overhead is so
much and you're not bringing inmoney.
So that was the first part.
But I was in network with allthe insurance companies and all
the pediatricians knew me fromaround the city.
(13:26):
So they would refer patients tome, and I was doing fairly
well, just learning how to havemultiple revenue streams so my
family could continue to livethe life they were accustomed to
living, with me gettingconsistently paid every two
weeks through the hospitalsystem.
But it was the freedom andindependence I got back from
(13:48):
doing that was worth itcompletely.
Dr. Ralph Ford (13:51):
And then it's only a few years later, really,
in the arc of history, your hispersonal history, that the
COVID-19 pandemic hits in 2020.
None of none of us see thatcoming.
And then your life takes a hugechange because you you see that
there's a problem happeningthat uh the rest of the world,
maybe even though they see it,they're not doing anything about
(14:12):
it.
Dr. Ala Stanford (14:12):
Right.
And I so March 2020, I'm surewe all remember where we were
March 10th, March 13th, wheneverything shut down.
Happened to be my twin'sbirthday, March 10th.
Dr. Ralph Ford (14:24):
It was March Friday the 13th.
I remember you remember, yeah,sure.
Dr. Ala Stanford (14:28):
So, and being from Philly, as you heard, um,
and everyone knowing how toreach me, like I was the doc
people could reach, they werecalling saying, Ala, I think I
have COVID and I'm going to thehospital.
They're sending me home sayingI'm not sick enough, or I went
somewhere, and because I walkedup, they were only taking people
drive up in cars, or I had aprescription, but my doc wasn't
(14:53):
on staff at this hospital, sothey wouldn't take me, and all
these reasons.
And because I had worked at allthe hospitals, I called folks
and said, Are you really turningpeople away?
And they said, The volume's toogreat.
And if they're not in ournetwork, we can't be responsible
for taking care of them andgetting their results back.
We're just too swamped and toooverwhelmed.
(15:13):
And because I had my ownprivate practice and a surgeon,
I had gowns and gloves andmasks, and I had an account with
LabCore and Quest so I couldget the testing supplies.
Although I had to fight whenyou're a surgeon, they're like,
What are you doing with COVIDtests?
Like you belong in an OR.
And I said, just trust me.
And so because I had that and Ifinally got someone to agree to
(15:41):
send me a box, that's how wegot started.
And in the beginning, I wentdoor to door to door with folks
that I just went online andsaid, if you need a COVID test,
email me at my pediatric surgerypractice.
And folks emailed me and wefigured out how to drive from
one part of the city to theother.
People would come out on theirporch, I would do the COVID
(16:03):
test, put it in ice, and then wewould go to the next house.
We only did 12 tests and wewere out for like eight hours.
I'm like, okay, this is notgonna work.
Yeah, yeah, too slow.
And then I, you know, startedthinking, just with my physician
scientist background, well,where is the disease the
(16:24):
highest?
And I went to the dashboard forthe city website and I could
see the zip codes where thepositivity rate was the highest,
and asked my pastor, could youfind me a church in each one of
these zip codes?
And we basically triaged fromwhere the positivity rate was
like one in two, one in four.
And those were the churches wereached out to first to say, can
(16:47):
we have your parking lot,electricity, and restrooms for
the staff?
And I literally built a triagehospital in the parking lot, and
people went on social media.
I reached out to my doctorcolleagues and said, You just
need to be a licensed nurse ordoctor.
Like I can't take any students,anyone in training, and that's
(17:11):
how we started.
So we went from 12 the firstday, 150 the second, and by the
third day, it was 400 people.
Dr. Ralph Ford (17:19):
Wow.
And were people skeptical?
I mean, were they afraid tocome out and even get the tests,
or was there resistance tothat?
Dr. Ala Stanford (17:27):
You know, some were afraid, and that's where I
came up with, and a lot offolks say to me, Well, why did
you call it the Black Doctor'sCOVID-19 consortium?
And I did that because I wastrying to connote trust in the
name, because at the time, blackfolks in Philly were dying at a
rate four times greater thanwhite.
(17:48):
And so I needed to be able tosay, because a lot of the
mistrust that exists in thehealthcare system with black
American folks stems from thenon-concordance or doctors not
having a shared livingexperience.
So I thought if I could putthat in the name, then people
(18:10):
might at least be curious.
Black doctors, are there reallygoing to be black doctors
there?
Like what exactly are theydoing kind of thing?
And so, yes, they wereskeptical, but word spread like
wildfire.
And ABC News, not regular,you're local, but national ABC
News had drones over, they couldsee the lines and the cars
(18:31):
wrapped around, and nationalnews took note of what we were
doing.
And one church was 400, thenext church was 300, the next,
and it just went on and on.
We were doing over a thousandtests per week.
Dr. Ralph Ford (18:45):
Picking the church as well.
That was a smart move.
Dr. Ala Stanford (18:48):
Yeah.
I mean, when you when you'refocused on a group of people,
and during COVID, the folks thatwere being disproportionately
impacted were black.
And so you had to think aboutwhere do they trust?
So it wasn't just churches, butwe were also mosques because
there's a large Muslimpopulation in Philadelphia.
(19:10):
We were at union locations, wewere at parks and recreation
centers, we were on streetcorners sometimes, we were
wherever people trusted waswhere we went.
And I think with any publichealth strategy, regardless of
the group that you're serving,you need to understand what they
need and what they trust.
(19:31):
And I don't believe, and I'vesaid this before, that people
just showed up because I was ablack woman doctor.
Like they didn't know who Iwas, right?
But they knew that church andthey knew the pastor.
And because the pastor saidit's okay, that's why.
And that gave me an opportunityto earn their trust.
Dr. Ralph Ford (19:51):
And then you transitioned because testing
need was great.
We all remember that youcouldn't get a test to save your
life, right?
And then after a while youcould, but you know, it like you
say, it wasn't equitable.
But then you switched tovaccination.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:04):
Yeah.
Dr. Ralph Ford (20:04):
So talk about how that changed completely.
So that's where you I think youeven had a larger impact with
vaccination.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:09):
So I just have to pause and say, this is
awesome, by the way.
I'm like totally enjoying this.
Dr. Ralph Ford (20:14):
And I know someone sent me a bunch of
notes, but this is just reallyflowing.
Okay.
This is my by the way, sincewe're off the this is my next
job.
I'm gonna, you know, I'm justgonna be a kind of a radio
interviewer.
Well, Dr.
Ford, you are very good atthis.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:27):
This is like, I'm enjoying it.
Dr. Ralph Ford (20:29):
Well, when it's a fun conversation, so back to
it.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:32):
So you're right, vaccinations was a whole
different ball game.
By now, I was on thePhiladelphia Department of
Health board for COVID recoveryand response.
And I was at the table wheredecisions were being made.
And it was cold and flu seasonin fall of October 2020, and we
(20:55):
knew a vaccine was coming.
So, and people were alreadysaying, you know, black people
don't trust it, they're notgonna take it.
And in my mind, I was thinking,well, I'm, I mean, I might take
it, you know, I don't wantCOVID.
So when people came to get aCOVID test from us in October,
we started a psychometric tool,fancy word for a survey.
(21:18):
When they were coming for theirtest and their flu shot to ask
their attitudes and perceptionsabout a COVID vaccine.
And it was just maybe 10questions.
If a COVID vaccine wereavailable, would you take it?
Why or why not?
And we asked a series ofquestions.
We had about 600 respondents inone day, which is research at
(21:41):
its highest.
And from that, we were able toglean what would make someone
feel more comfortable about theCOVID vaccine.
So December 2020, it comes out,we get vaccinated publicly, we
meaning all the staff members atthe Black Doctor's COVID-19
consortium, so they see usgetting it.
(22:03):
I think that made a bigdifference.
But then I went to the healthdepartment and I said, listen,
we are ready.
We're used to taking care of500 people a day, we're ready.
And the health commissionersaid, We can't afford to give it
to that community first becausewe can't waste it.
And we already know they don'twant it.
(22:23):
And I said, That's not true.
It depends on who is giving itand where.
And I had I had researched toback it up because I had, you
know, surveyed at least 600people.
And I kept getting no, no, no.
So subsequently, the healthdepartment gave the contract to
do the mass vaccines to a younggroup of students at Drexel who
(22:47):
came up with an innovative ideato mass vaccinate the city of
Philadelphia, but they weredoing it at the convention
center, which I knew most peoplein the community were not going
to go to the convention center.
It's like hard to navigate,there's nowhere to park, you can
get lost in there and all ofthat.
And it came out and theystarted, but the rooms were
empty.
(23:07):
They weren't full, and a lot ofpeople were not going there.
Then it came out that they werevaccinating elected officials
in their homes, that they weretaking the vaccine home, that
the records were shoddy and allof this.
And then it became a front pagestory in the Washington Post,
front page story in the New YorkTimes about how the health
department had invested in thisgroup and they failed miserably.
(23:31):
So they had to shut them down.
And then they came to us andsaid, Can you lead the mass
vaccination?
And I say that to say thatsometimes there is still bias in
health and that we were not thefirst choice.
We were the second choice whenthe choice that they chose the
(23:52):
first time didn't work out.
But with that, we and BloombergNews reported we vaccinated
more Black residents than anyother city, major city in the
United States, because we wereintentional, because we went to
the people, we asked them whatthey needed, and we earned their
(24:14):
trust with the testing firstthat the vaccines just came
naturally.
And so you're right, it was nota small thing.
Dr. Ralph Ford (24:21):
Um I remember watching some of the videos with
people who were hesitant andhow you had to meet with them to
overcome the vaccine hesitancy.
Dr. Ala Stanford (24:28):
Yeah, absolutely.
Some folks came day after day.
No, not today, doc, but it's agood thing what you're doing
here, but not me.
You know, not me.
And then some of the parentswere interesting, like they may
not get vaccinated, but theyallowed their children to get
vaccinated because the kidswanted to play in sports,
because they wanted to go to theprom.
(24:50):
Uh, they wanted to get a summerjob, and it was requiring them
to be vaccinated and show thatcard.
Remember the card?
Um, and so they didn't do it.
Dr. Ralph Ford (25:00):
You had to show it to get into someplace.
Dr. Ala Stanford (25:02):
You had to show it to get in.
And so, you know, it'sinteresting as we go down memory
lane on this, but we really didearn the trust of the people
and with that save lives.
Dr. Ralph Ford (25:12):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for this, I will go to arecognition.
You get named a what CNN top 10hero.
And uh by that time you werewell on, you know, well known
here at Behrend.
And I think we were all rootingand voting for you.
You you were in the top 10, youdidn't make top one, which
that's but I also think whatdidn't Dr.
Tony Fauci introduce you there?
(25:33):
What was so tell us about thisexperience?
It was crazy, first of all.
You know, when Anderson Cooperis telling you good job, and
Kelly Repa, it's like, what isthis my life right now?
You know, and there's like allthis makeup and bright lights,
and you're going to commercialbreak and everything.
Dr. Ala Stanford (25:51):
It was it was surreal.
Um, and it really highlightedthe work we had done and just
led to more and moreopportunities for me and for a
community that typically youwould not hear about or from.
Dr. Ralph Ford (26:08):
Yeah, because then you transitioned to
something called the Dr.
Ela Stanford Center for HealthEquity.
Dr. Ala Stanford (26:14):
Health Equity.
So, or ASHE as we finally callit.
Folks started coming even afterthey had gotten their vaccine.
And this time they wanted us tolook at their medication list,
or they wanted us to look at alump on their neck.
And they said, Well, you'redoctors, right?
(26:34):
Can you help me figure thisout?
And I realized that thecommunity had come to rely on
us.
And I was already like, okay,I've done my part in history,
I'm going back to the OR, butthey had really come to rely on
us.
And interesting from a businessperspective, which I did not
know this would happen, becauseI had my own practice, I was
(26:57):
able to run that entireoperation with my own
infrastructure.
And so all the people fortesting that had previously been
turned away because they theirdoc wasn't on staff, because
they didn't have insurance orwhatever, I was able to submit
claims for that work.
And I turned a profit of over amillion dollars by doing that.
(27:20):
And I took that money andreinvested it and built the Dr.
A.
Last Stanford Center for HealthEquity.
So that's how we built that10,000 square foot with eight
exam rooms and with pediatricsthrough geriatrics and
everything in between, and alsopsychiatry and behavioral
health.
(27:40):
We're about to open an imagingcenter with CT scan and
ultrasound and mammography andall of that.
But I took the money that Iwasn't expecting to make.
I mean, honestly, I was livinga comfortable life as a surgeon.
So this was bonus.
And I took that and reinvestedit in that community.
And we're now going on fiveyears.
(28:01):
We have our second location.
Um, we've taken care ofthousands of people.
We are a school-based healthcenter for the school district
of Philadelphia, which meansthat kids can come during the
day at any time to get any carethat they need.
And it's one of those examplesof triumph over tragedy that
came from COVID.
(28:22):
And yeah, so I'm very proud ofthat.
Dr. Ralph Ford (28:26):
Well, that that impact will last a long time.
Another example of you being anentrepreneur as well, taking
the initiative and taking therisk that you didn't have to do.
And uh, what if people want todonate?
Dr. Ala Stanford (28:37):
Oh, so bdccares.com.
So it's Black DoctorsConsortium Cares.
It's because doctors carecares.
There's so many things, but thewebsite is bdccares.com, and
then there's something on thereabout support.
Dr. Ralph Ford (28:56):
And even if people didn't get that, easy
enough to find with uh Googlesearch.
But it is important for peopleto know that uh that they can
donate to that good cause andcontinue the work that you're
doing.
Then you go on to become youget nominated by uh President
Biden for an important post.
Dr. Ala Stanford (29:13):
It is, it's been a busy five years.
So when we were doing thatwork, one day people were lined
up around the building, andyoung people keep doing what
you're doing, but a young personvideoed it, and I posted it on
X.
It was still Twitter then, butI posted it and I said just as a
(29:34):
caption, White House COVIDresponse team, where are you?
That's what I wrote.
And I got a call from the WhiteHouse that night.
I was like, oh my gosh, right?
And they asked a Twitter postdude, you so be careful what you
post, okay?
But it was a good thing, andthey said, What do you need?
You know, we see the great workyou're doing, and I said, My
(29:57):
people are burnt out, we needmore.
Support, we need moreresources.
There are communities we justcan't get to.
My folks are getting sick.
Like, and with that, theyconnected me and I with the city
health department, and we wereable to uh lead a FEMA mission.
And with that came personnel,and we went to the public
(30:22):
schools of Philadelphia, and wewere able to go in and vaccinate
the children because by now thekids were starting to get
COVID, and we did have deathsfrom COVID in Philadelphia for
folks under the age of 18.
And by doing that, we doubledthe vaccination rates in a lot
of the schools and saved morechildren.
And so, you know, you neverknow when what you're doing,
(30:45):
you're actually beinginterviewed for a job.
So after I led the FEMAmission, I got called from a
high-ranking uh elected to ask,was I okay with them nominating
me?
And then I was appointed theU.S.
Department of Health and HumanServices Regional Director for,
as you mentioned, Virginia, WestVirginia, Delaware,
(31:06):
Pennsylvania, DC, and Maryland.
Dr. Ralph Ford (31:09):
Biggest thing you learned there?
What was the biggest thing youlearned in that position?
Dr. Ala Stanford (31:14):
I would say the processes to get things done
in a bureaucracy and how to beeffective, you really have to
work with sometimes people youdon't like and find the common
thread and goal so that you bothachieve the desired mission or
(31:36):
opportunity.
The other thing I would say Ilearned is how intertwined
local, state, and federalgovernment is, but people don't
often see that.
They see the mayor, they seetheir city council, and they
don't see how theircongressperson or their senator
(31:57):
is really advocating on theirbehalf, but they are.
So in order for the governor tohave money, that comes from the
federal government.
In order for the city to havemoney, that money comes from the
governor.
And it all starts in DC.
And just being able to connectthe dots and realize sometimes
(32:18):
when I was frustrated, I mighthave been frustrated at the
wrong person and recognizingthat it's all a continuum.
Dr. Ralph Ford (32:26):
You know, I preach here in Penn State,
patience and persistence willwin the day, and uh just takes
time.
But if you if you have those,if you do that, uh you'll you
can be successful.
Well, I want to make sure wehit two more items before we
finish.
And one is that along the wayyou won another award, and I was
there when you got it in NewYork City, which is the
(32:46):
Pennsylvania Society, which isuh, and you won something called
the uh the gold medal awardthat's given out at their annual
event, a great event in NewYork City.
And uh that was a first aswell.
And uh I'll let you tell thestory, but I will say I've been
going for well over a decade, byfar the best acceptance speech
I've ever seen there.
And I say that everyone else inthe room thought the same
(33:08):
thing, too.
Dr. Ala Stanford (33:09):
Thank you.
Wow.
That was a special night.
That was a special night toreally be recognized by my
peers, people who I didn't knowwho knew me from across the
entire Commonwealth.
So urban, suburban, uh rural,honestly, Republican, Democrat,
(33:36):
you know, independent, everyonethat basically recognized that
in a time of need, I had steppedup and led a movement, if you
will.
And it meant a lot and to sharethat with my children and my
husband, and to know that I wasthe first black woman to receive
(33:58):
that in over 112 years to bealongside astronauts and civic
leaders was very special um forme, and how I got reacquainted
with my Erie family and myBehrend family, which I
appreciate so much.
(34:19):
And most of what I said thatnight was not written because
the speech was supposed to be 10minutes.
I think I was like 17 minutesin.
But I just felt so moved, andit was everything was still raw,
you know, everything was stillraw, then.
Um, but I enjoy it, and I'm auh lifelong member, and I'm sure
(34:43):
I'll see you in New York insoon.
Dr. Ralph Ford (34:44):
I will see you there this year.
So yeah.
You're you're a convert to thePA Society, and it really is a
neat place for the leaders ofPennsylvania, you know, and
there's a history behind that,and people scratch their head
why.
But yeah, a lot of leaders fromPA show up in New York City.
Dr. Ala Stanford (34:58):
Why not leave PA?
We're here all the time.
That's right.
Dr. Ralph Ford (35:02):
We have a little fun and it's a great time.
Dr. Ala Stanford (35:04):
We have a great time.
Dr. Ralph Ford (35:05):
Well, I'll tell the you know, a few weeks ago
you send me a text and you said,uh, Ralph, I think I'm gonna
run for Congress.
And uh you called me actually.
True story.
True story, and I think I was alittle bit like, wow.
And uh you since haveannounced, but I I within a day
I recovered and called you backand told you I think you'd be
(35:27):
perfect for that.
You did because I think youwere stunned.
It's uh, you know, politics areso difficult.
That's the reason why.
Like, you know, like yeah youwant to really want to step into
that arena, butcongratulations, you have.
And I think you're in a primaryrace, I believe.
But uh, do you want to talkabout that?
What's moved you to do that?
And no, okay, truly publicservice is is noble, of course.
(35:48):
And uh, you know, we're happyto have you talk about that.
Dr. Ala Stanford (35:52):
So, well, my default is to serve.
That has been my entire life,and gosh, the more I have given,
the more I get back.
People know me locally andnationally from service.
Do you know what I mean?
(36:12):
Not from like bright lights andthe special title, like any
title I have has come from thepeople.
And now that I have thisplatform and when I talk, people
listen and I can advocate, tome, it seems like this is just
(36:33):
the next path at a higher levelto have the most impact for my
community.
And so for it to be inPhiladelphia, which is the
district where I was born, whereI still work, is that much more
special.
And it's a competitive seat.
(36:55):
The uh incumbent at least fivepeople right now.
Oh my gosh, it might be up toeight now.
Okay, but but I would say notmy summation, but what the news
has mentioned that the main fourpeople are myself, State
Senator uh Sharif Street, uh,and two House reps, Chris Robb
(37:17):
and Morgan Seafis.
But I'm proud to say that theincumbent who said he's retiring
and not running endorsed me.
Dr. Ralph Ford (37:26):
Wow, congratulations.
Dr. Ala Stanford (37:27):
Endorsed me uh for the seat and said that I've
demonstrated leadership in themost trying and challenging
times, and that that's what weneed now, not more of the same.
And so I'm excited.
It's been exactly eight days,and my life is forever
different.
Dr. Ralph Ford (37:48):
Is that because of what news media is calling?
Dr. Ala Stanford (37:50):
And lots of that.
Lots of folks want to talkabout support or where I stand.
And I've got a lot of work todo.
You know, the primary is May19th.
I've got 37 wards I've got tomeet with in different
communities that knew me fromCOVID but need to see not just
what I think about health, butabout economic uh stability and
(38:13):
viability in communities, aboutfeeling safer where you live and
work, about putting resourcesinto education in our public
school system, and of course,health, which everyone is
talking about.
Dr. Ralph Ford (38:25):
Sure.
Dr. Ala Stanford (38:25):
Hopefully, by the time this airs, the shutdown
will be over.
But for them to really hear howI will advocate and push for
what we need in Philadelphia, PADistrict 3.
Dr. Ralph Ford (38:37):
Well, congratulations and good luck to
you.
Dr. Ala Stanford (38:40):
Thank you.
Dr. Ralph Ford (38:40):
All right, we're, you know, I'll give you
the last word, but what wouldyour message be?
What's your message going to beto our students this evening?
Dr. Ala Stanford (38:47):
Oh my goodness.
The message to the students,and maybe even what I may have
said to myself when I was incollege, is everyone doesn't see
your vision.
Everyone may not see whatyou're trying to achieve.
But you be true and honest withyourself about where your
(39:13):
strengths are, where yourchallenges may lay, and work
hard to overcome the things thatyou're not great at, but not to
have your dreams be deferred.
And maybe if they're deferred,don't allow them to be denied.
If you choose not to go afterit, let it be because that's
(39:35):
what you want it, not becausesomeone discouraged you.
And, you know, I don't havemuch fear these days, except of
God, and my faith is strong.
And surround yourself withpeople who are about uplifting
you, honest with you, but aboutuplifting you to be your best
(40:00):
self, to find joy in every day,and know that you are uniquely
made, and there's no one elselike you, and there will never
be.
And so make the most of thelife you've been given.
Dr. Ralph Ford (40:15):
Outstanding advice and wisdom.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Thank you for having me.
This was fun.
You've been listening toBehrend Talks.
I'm Chancellor Ralph Ford.
My guest today is theextraordinary Dr.
Ala Stanford, a Behrend grad,done so many wonderful things.
Thank you for being here today.
Dr. Ala Stanford (40:33):
Thank you for having me.
I'm Dr.
Ralph Ford, Chancellor of PennState Behrend, and you are
listening to Behrend Talks,where we connect with leaders,
innovators, and thinkers who areshaping the world.
Today we have a very, veryspecial guest, and that is Dr.
Ala Stanford, a pediatricsurgeon and founder of the Black
Doctors COVID-19 consortium.
And first, I'm going to gothrough a lot of this, Ala, but
(00:22):
welcome to the show.
Dr. Ala Stanford (00:24):
Thank you for having me.
It's nice to be back.
Dr. Ralph Ford (00:26):
Well, you're here on a beautiful day in
October, and uh, you know, youwere a commencement speaker a
few years ago.
We always love having you oncampus.
Also, tell our audience you'reyou're speaking here on campus
tonight, too, so a lot going on.
Dr. Ala Stanford (00:38):
Yes, indeed.
Excited to see everybody.
Excited to be one of thespeakers in your leadership
series.
Dr. Ralph Ford (00:45):
So thank you so much.
Well, I'm gonna give ouraudience a little bit about your
background.
Uh, of course, you came uh to alot of national attention
actually during the COVID-19pandemic in an effort to provide
testing.
We're gonna talk all about thisin later vaccinations to
Philadelphia's most vulnerableresidents uh during the height
of the pandemic.
(01:05):
You later went on to serve asthe regional director of the
U.S.
Department of Health and HumanServices, where you oversaw
federal health programs in fivestates.
And uh, you know, you startedhere at Behrend.
Uh, you are a faculty member atthe University of Pennsylvania.
That's relatively new.
So uh another, you know,advance in your career.
(01:28):
And recently you just announcedthat you're running for
Congress.
So a whole lot to talk abouttoday.
That is true, boys.
Sounds like a whole lot whenyou say that.
Well, there is, but let's starteasy.
Let's talk about, you know,it's uh you're you're here with
your son today, who's actuallyvisiting campus and thinking
about coming here.
But you came here many yearsago from Philadelphia.
(01:51):
Probably didn't know much aboutBehrnd.
Tell us what your path was toPenn State Behrend.
Dr. Ala Stanford (01:56):
First again, thank you for having me and
welcoming me and my I my son.
It's a little surreal as Istepped on campus at 17, and he
is 17 and he's here.
Wow.
Dr. Ralph Ford (02:08):
Wow.
That's that's a little historyrings, they say, right?
Dr. Ala Stanford (02:13):
So for me, Penn State was because I knew I
wanted to be a doctor from thetime I was about eight years
old.
And the only person I knew whohad gone to Penn State was a
cousin of mine.
And I said, if that's what ittakes to become a doctor, that's
exactly what I'm going to doit.
When I looked at a map, therewere all the Penn State
(02:36):
campuses, and Erie was thefurthest from Philadelphia.
So that's the one I picked.
And honestly, that's why Ipicked it because I was ready to
get out of the house.
I was ready to be independent,to be on my own, and I didn't
want to be super close to myfamily.
I mean, this is true story.
And so I don't think I had evervisited, but when my mom
(02:59):
dropped me off, I said she wascrying.
I said, see you later.
I'm exactly where I want to be.
And uh, as they say, the restis history.
Dr. Ralph Ford (03:07):
It is, and you did a lot while you were here.
We'll get into that.
But uh, did you had you visitedcampus or did you just apply
and showed up, you know, at theat the start?
Do you remember that?
Dr. Ala Stanford (03:17):
Really, I I don't believe I visited not
Behrend or University Park.
I think um it might have beentoo expensive.
You had to get like a greyhoundor like trailways, bus, you
know, sort of to migrate upthrough Pennsylvania.
And um I just, you know, I knewwhat was in the book, what was
(03:38):
in the catalog, and I was readyto come and ready to start my
journey to become a physician.
Dr. Ralph Ford (03:44):
So you said when you were eight years old you
knew you wanted to be aphysician.
Was there some experience, oryou just, you know, you saw it
on TV.
What was it that you knew?
Dr. Ala Stanford (03:53):
Well, it's a couple things.
So for one, in Philly, sort ofwhen you're an impoverished kid,
everyone goes to the healthcenter.
So we went to maybe healthcenter number five, which I
still think is so impersonal,but it's health center number
eight, number nine, whatever.
And there was a doctor therewho was a black woman, and she
(04:14):
seemed so relaxed, and sheseemed happy and put together.
She had on nice clothes, and Ihad never seen someone like her
before who was a black woman,except my mom who was working
hard and definitely did not lookrelaxed like this woman.
And so that was part of it.
And then the other part was inschool in the Philadelphia
(04:38):
Public School System, when youdid well on your exams, it
seemed like the teachers paidattention to you more and you
wanted that.
And then we had thisacademically talented AT or
mentally gifted student.
So if you tested into that, youone day a week got to do
something outside of yourneighborhood.
(04:59):
And for me, it was to go toWest Philly on Drexel's campus
and spend a day shadowing acollege student, which opened so
many doors for me.
And so it was a combination ofseeing someone who looked like
me, seemingly happy, being on adifferent part of Philadelphia
(05:22):
where people seemed to be betteroff, and tying in that my mind
and my education and my studyingwas how I could get to that.
So I liked science, but I wastired of being poor.
And it seemed like to me, if Iinvested that maybe I could get
(05:44):
to some of these things I wasseeing around me, like the
doctor at the health center andlike the college students at
Drexel.
Dr. Ralph Ford (05:51):
You know, seeing the role models super key.
But also we find, you know, wewe invest a lot of effort
getting kids to campus whenthey're young, just so it's not
this big intimidating place, sothat they can see that there are
people like them here and hearfrom students.
And uh, so you got to Erie, itcouldn't be further away from
Philadelphia.
You went from the East Coast tothe West Coast.
(06:12):
So, what was it like when yougot here?
What sort of environment didyou find?
Dr. Ala Stanford (06:16):
Well, I like that the campus was big enough,
but not so big that I got lost.
I found other kids who werealso from Philly, so we had our
our little click, if you will.
I like that in my dorm, and Idon't know if you could still do
it, you were able to paint amural on your wall.
(06:36):
So I did that.
What else?
Obviously, the cafeteria.
Dr. Ralph Ford (06:42):
Cafeteria looked a whole lot different.
It was very institutionallooking.
I wasn't here, but I saw theremnant 10 years later.
Dr. Ala Stanford (06:48):
Absolutely.
But there were other things,like there was a Miss Penn State
Behrend, which I was in.
I did not win, but I still havepictures.
I was like first or secondrunner-up.
Dr. Ralph Ford (06:57):
We don't have that anymore.
Dr. Ala Stanford (06:58):
Oh, okay.
Well, I was part of that.
There was a fashion show forBlack History Month.
I remember that, and there mayhave been a black student union
here.
What I really remember, and I'mgonna talk about this a bit
tonight, were the speakers thatcame.
And two speakers that stood outfor me were Julian Bond, who
(07:20):
was part of the SouthernChristian Leaders Conference
with the Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King.
And I remember, you know, beinga teenager, just excited to
hear him speak.
And the other person I remembercoming to Behrend was Shirley
Chisholm, who was one of thefirst or the only black, well,
that's not true, because nowKamala Harris to run for
(07:42):
president, and she was acongressional leader.
And so those two speakers cameto Behrend, and this is like 19
uh, you know, a 19 number.
Um, and so I remember that Iremember applying to be a lion
ambassador, and that that was avery prestigious group to be a
(08:02):
part of.
I love the sweaters.
I love the sweaters, and ofcourse, track, and I know I'm
like talking, but you asked meabout Behrend.
Dr. Ralph Ford (08:12):
But you know, I we have to talk about track and
field.
Dr. Ala Stanford (08:15):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for me in high school, itwas that place I could escape
to, that I could find friends,and there wasn't a track team
here.
So I remember learning abouthow to establish a club, how to
have an advisor, what were thesurrounding teams we would
compete against, and was part ofthat early development of a
(08:38):
track club at Penn State.
I remember being educated onwhich lion we could put on the
jersey, which color it could be,and all those steps, and
definitely competing in a meetor two.
So those are some of my fondmemories of Penn State.
Dr. Ralph Ford (08:55):
Well, I'll tell you, you know, you are credited,
and we'll make sure it goesdown in the history books with
the person who started the trackand field club, which has now
grown into a very significanttrack and field team uh here at
Behrend that continues tothrive.
And the other thing is I I didwas not aware that Julian Bonn
or you know, Chisholm spokehere, but that's also
(09:15):
interesting to know.
By the way, also Maya Angelouspoke at one of our
commencements, and uh thatpreceded me as well, too.
So we've really had someimpactful people over the years.
Dr. Ala Stanford (09:25):
And I have to say, in a time when it may not
have been popular, do you knowwhat I mean?
Like 1988, 1989, and I'm surein all the archives you can dig
this up.
But the reason why I know is Iremember this is gonna be funny,
how I was wearing my hair atthe time.
And so when I look at thosepictures of me with Julian Bond
(09:48):
or with Shirley Chisholm, it wasright here.
Yeah, it was right here.
Dr. Ralph Ford (09:52):
Right here.
And now you're back in thatvery same speaker series.
So think about that.
You would have never imaginedthat.
Oh, so a lot of full circlemoments here.
Yeah, yeah, a lot of fullcircle moments.
You then go from here toUniversity Park, you get your
degree at Penn State Med, andyou become the first black
female pediatric surgeon.
Dr. Ala Stanford (10:12):
I'll let you explain it.
Yeah, yeah.
So it's you know, let mecorrect.
So, first black woman pediatricsurgeon entirely trained in the
United States.
You never think about that whenyou're in school.
But that's I think one of mymentors said that to me once and
said, yes, there was Dr.
(10:33):
Andrea Hayes-Dixon who finishedin Canada.
But when I finished in 06, wewere the only two for years, you
know.
And she's Andrea, and I'm Ala.
And so it was always the well,which, you know, which one is
it?
It's both our names begin andend in A.
(10:54):
But I was very proud of that.
Uh, to be board certified inboth adult general surgery and
pediatric surgery is no smallfeat.
Um, and to be able to have theprivilege of someone entrusting
their child to you is somethingI I don't take for granted.
Dr. Ralph Ford (11:16):
Yeah.
So huge responsibility.
And so then you start yourpractice in the Philadelphia
area?
Dr. Ala Stanford (11:22):
Yes.
So originally when I finished,I went back to Philly.
I worked at Temple UniversitySchool of Medicine.
I was at Abington Hospital,part of Jefferson.
I worked at St.
Christopher's Hospital forChildren and the Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia.
So in Philly, there's like fivemedical schools, so you just go
back and forth between them.
(11:43):
But somewhere in there, when mychildren were old enough to
talk, they would say to me, myyoungest said, Mom, are you
gonna be here when I wake up inthe morning?
And that came because I wouldalways leave in the middle of
the night to go in and operateand things like that.
And after you operated and thechild was in the neonatal
(12:06):
intensive care unit or the ICU,you had to make sure they were
stable.
So my kids would wake up andcome to my room and I wasn't
there.
It was with that that I leftworking for the hospital and
started my own private practice.
And the reason I did it was soI could control my schedule.
And so I could say, I'm gonnabe on call this time to this
(12:29):
time.
I'm gonna start operating atnine in the morning instead of
six or seven in the morning, soI could at least wake up, make
breakfast, get my kids ready forschool, then go to work, and
then come home and be home whenthey got off the bus.
And it's not as lucrative whenyou do it that way.
But what my young child wastelling me at five was that he
(12:53):
missed me and he wanted to seeme more.
And that's how I went intoprivate practice.
Wow.
Dr. Ralph Ford (12:58):
And what you I'm sure you learned a lot.
There were probably a lot ofchallenges with starting your
own private practice at thattime.
Dr. Ala Stanford (13:04):
Oh my goodness.
Well, the first thing I cantell the entrepreneur is for
whatever field, you usually makeno money in the first year or
two, and you really need to saveup because your overhead is so
much and you're not bringing inmoney.
So that was the first part.
But I was in network with allthe insurance companies and all
the pediatricians knew me fromaround the city.
(13:26):
So they would refer patients tome, and I was doing fairly
well, just learning how to havemultiple revenue streams so my
family could continue to livethe life they were accustomed to
living, with me gettingconsistently paid every two
weeks through the hospitalsystem.
But it was the freedom andindependence I got back from
(13:48):
doing that was worth itcompletely.
Dr. Ralph Ford (13:51):
And then it's only a few years later, really,
in the arc of history, your hispersonal history, that the
COVID-19 pandemic hits in 2020.
None of none of us see thatcoming.
And then your life takes a hugechange because you you see that
there's a problem happeningthat uh the rest of the world,
maybe even though they see it,they're not doing anything about
(14:12):
it.
Dr. Ala Stanford (14:12):
Right.
And I so March 2020, I'm surewe all remember where we were
March 10th, March 13th, wheneverything shut down.
Happened to be my twin'sbirthday, March 10th.
Dr. Ralph Ford (14:24):
It was March Friday the 13th.
I remember you remember, yeah,sure.
Dr. Ala Stanford (14:28):
So, and being from Philly, as you heard, um,
and everyone knowing how toreach me, like I was the doc
people could reach, they werecalling saying, Ala, I think I
have COVID and I'm going to thehospital.
They're sending me home sayingI'm not sick enough, or I went
somewhere, and because I walkedup, they were only taking people
drive up in cars, or I had aprescription, but my doc wasn't
(14:53):
on staff at this hospital, sothey wouldn't take me, and all
these reasons.
And because I had worked at allthe hospitals, I called folks
and said, Are you really turningpeople away?
And they said, The volume's toogreat.
And if they're not in ournetwork, we can't be responsible
for taking care of them andgetting their results back.
We're just too swamped and toooverwhelmed.
(15:13):
And because I had my ownprivate practice and a surgeon,
I had gowns and gloves andmasks, and I had an account with
LabCore and Quest so I couldget the testing supplies.
Although I had to fight whenyou're a surgeon, they're like,
What are you doing with COVIDtests?
Like you belong in an OR.
And I said, just trust me.
And so because I had that and Ifinally got someone to agree to
(15:41):
send me a box, that's how wegot started.
And in the beginning, I wentdoor to door to door with folks
that I just went online andsaid, if you need a COVID test,
email me at my pediatric surgerypractice.
And folks emailed me and wefigured out how to drive from
one part of the city to theother.
People would come out on theirporch, I would do the COVID
(16:03):
test, put it in ice, and then wewould go to the next house.
We only did 12 tests and wewere out for like eight hours.
I'm like, okay, this is notgonna work.
Yeah, yeah, too slow.
And then I, you know, startedthinking, just with my physician
scientist background, well,where is the disease the
(16:24):
highest?
And I went to the dashboard forthe city website and I could
see the zip codes where thepositivity rate was the highest,
and asked my pastor, could youfind me a church in each one of
these zip codes?
And we basically triaged fromwhere the positivity rate was
like one in two, one in four.
And those were the churches wereached out to first to say, can
(16:47):
we have your parking lot,electricity, and restrooms for
the staff?
And I literally built a triagehospital in the parking lot, and
people went on social media.
I reached out to my doctorcolleagues and said, You just
need to be a licensed nurse ordoctor.
Like I can't take any students,anyone in training, and that's
(17:11):
how we started.
So we went from 12 the firstday, 150 the second, and by the
third day, it was 400 people.
Dr. Ralph Ford (17:19):
Wow.
And were people skeptical?
I mean, were they afraid tocome out and even get the tests,
or was there resistance tothat?
Dr. Ala Stanford (17:27):
You know, some were afraid, and that's where I
came up with, and a lot offolks say to me, Well, why did
you call it the Black Doctor'sCOVID-19 consortium?
And I did that because I wastrying to connote trust in the
name, because at the time, blackfolks in Philly were dying at a
rate four times greater thanwhite.
(17:48):
And so I needed to be able tosay, because a lot of the
mistrust that exists in thehealthcare system with black
American folks stems from thenon-concordance or doctors not
having a shared livingexperience.
So I thought if I could putthat in the name, then people
(18:10):
might at least be curious.
Black doctors, are there reallygoing to be black doctors
there?
Like what exactly are theydoing kind of thing?
And so, yes, they wereskeptical, but word spread like
wildfire.
And ABC News, not regular,you're local, but national ABC
News had drones over, they couldsee the lines and the cars
(18:31):
wrapped around, and nationalnews took note of what we were
doing.
And one church was 400, thenext church was 300, the next,
and it just went on and on.
We were doing over a thousandtests per week.
Dr. Ralph Ford (18:45):
Picking the church as well.
That was a smart move.
Dr. Ala Stanford (18:48):
Yeah.
I mean, when you when you'refocused on a group of people,
and during COVID, the folks thatwere being disproportionately
impacted were black.
And so you had to think aboutwhere do they trust?
So it wasn't just churches, butwe were also mosques because
there's a large Muslimpopulation in Philadelphia.
(19:10):
We were at union locations, wewere at parks and recreation
centers, we were on streetcorners sometimes, we were
wherever people trusted waswhere we went.
And I think with any publichealth strategy, regardless of
the group that you're serving,you need to understand what they
need and what they trust.
(19:31):
And I don't believe, and I'vesaid this before, that people
just showed up because I was ablack woman doctor.
Like they didn't know who Iwas, right?
But they knew that church andthey knew the pastor.
And because the pastor saidit's okay, that's why.
And that gave me an opportunityto earn their trust.
Dr. Ralph Ford (19:51):
And then you transitioned because testing
need was great.
We all remember that youcouldn't get a test to save your
life, right?
And then after a while youcould, but you know, it like you
say, it wasn't equitable.
But then you switched tovaccination.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:04):
Yeah.
Dr. Ralph Ford (20:04):
So talk about how that changed completely.
So that's where you I think youeven had a larger impact with
vaccination.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:09):
So I just have to pause and say, this is
awesome, by the way.
I'm like totally enjoying this.
Dr. Ralph Ford (20:14):
And I know someone sent me a bunch of
notes, but this is just reallyflowing.
Okay.
This is my by the way, sincewe're off the this is my next
job.
I'm gonna, you know, I'm justgonna be a kind of a radio
interviewer.
Well, Dr.
Ford, you are very good atthis.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:27):
This is like, I'm enjoying it.
Dr. Ralph Ford (20:29):
Well, when it's a fun conversation, so back to
it.
Dr. Ala Stanford (20:32):
So you're right, vaccinations was a whole
different ball game.
By now, I was on thePhiladelphia Department of
Health board for COVID recoveryand response.
And I was at the table wheredecisions were being made.
And it was cold and flu seasonin fall of October 2020, and we
(20:55):
knew a vaccine was coming.
So, and people were alreadysaying, you know, black people
don't trust it, they're notgonna take it.
And in my mind, I was thinking,well, I'm, I mean, I might take
it, you know, I don't wantCOVID.
So when people came to get aCOVID test from us in October,
we started a psychometric tool,fancy word for a survey.
(21:18):
When they were coming for theirtest and their flu shot to ask
their attitudes and perceptionsabout a COVID vaccine.
And it was just maybe 10questions.
If a COVID vaccine wereavailable, would you take it?
Why or why not?
And we asked a series ofquestions.
We had about 600 respondents inone day, which is research at
(21:41):
its highest.
And from that, we were able toglean what would make someone
feel more comfortable about theCOVID vaccine.
So December 2020, it comes out,we get vaccinated publicly, we
meaning all the staff members atthe Black Doctor's COVID-19
consortium, so they see usgetting it.
(22:03):
I think that made a bigdifference.
But then I went to the healthdepartment and I said, listen,
we are ready.
We're used to taking care of500 people a day, we're ready.
And the health commissionersaid, We can't afford to give it
to that community first becausewe can't waste it.
And we already know they don'twant it.
(22:23):
And I said, That's not true.
It depends on who is giving itand where.
And I had I had researched toback it up because I had, you
know, surveyed at least 600people.
And I kept getting no, no, no.
So subsequently, the healthdepartment gave the contract to
do the mass vaccines to a younggroup of students at Drexel who
(22:47):
came up with an innovative ideato mass vaccinate the city of
Philadelphia, but they weredoing it at the convention
center, which I knew most peoplein the community were not going
to go to the convention center.
It's like hard to navigate,there's nowhere to park, you can
get lost in there and all ofthat.
And it came out and theystarted, but the rooms were
empty.
(23:07):
They weren't full, and a lot ofpeople were not going there.
Then it came out that they werevaccinating elected officials
in their homes, that they weretaking the vaccine home, that
the records were shoddy and allof this.
And then it became a front pagestory in the Washington Post,
front page story in the New YorkTimes about how the health
department had invested in thisgroup and they failed miserably.
(23:31):
So they had to shut them down.
And then they came to us andsaid, Can you lead the mass
vaccination?
And I say that to say thatsometimes there is still bias in
health and that we were not thefirst choice.
We were the second choice whenthe choice that they chose the
(23:52):
first time didn't work out.
But with that, we and BloombergNews reported we vaccinated
more Black residents than anyother city, major city in the
United States, because we wereintentional, because we went to
the people, we asked them whatthey needed, and we earned their
(24:14):
trust with the testing firstthat the vaccines just came
naturally.
And so you're right, it was nota small thing.
Dr. Ralph Ford (24:21):
Um I remember watching some of the videos with
people who were hesitant andhow you had to meet with them to
overcome the vaccine hesitancy.
Dr. Ala Stanford (24:28):
Yeah, absolutely.
Some folks came day after day.
No, not today, doc, but it's agood thing what you're doing
here, but not me.
You know, not me.
And then some of the parentswere interesting, like they may
not get vaccinated, but theyallowed their children to get
vaccinated because the kidswanted to play in sports,
because they wanted to go to theprom.
(24:50):
Uh, they wanted to get a summerjob, and it was requiring them
to be vaccinated and show thatcard.
Remember the card?
Um, and so they didn't do it.
Dr. Ralph Ford (25:00):
You had to show it to get into someplace.
Dr. Ala Stanford (25:02):
You had to show it to get in.
And so, you know, it'sinteresting as we go down memory
lane on this, but we really didearn the trust of the people
and with that save lives.
Dr. Ralph Ford (25:12):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for this, I will go to arecognition.
You get named a what CNN top 10hero.
And uh by that time you werewell on, you know, well known
here at Behrend.
And I think we were all rootingand voting for you.
You you were in the top 10, youdidn't make top one, which
that's but I also think whatdidn't Dr.
Tony Fauci introduce you there?
(25:33):
What was so tell us about thisexperience?
It was crazy, first of all.
You know, when Anderson Cooperis telling you good job, and
Kelly Repa, it's like, what isthis my life right now?
You know, and there's like allthis makeup and bright lights,
and you're going to commercialbreak and everything.
Dr. Ala Stanford (25:51):
It was it was surreal.
Um, and it really highlightedthe work we had done and just
led to more and moreopportunities for me and for a
community that typically youwould not hear about or from.
Dr. Ralph Ford (26:08):
Yeah, because then you transitioned to
something called the Dr.
Ela Stanford Center for HealthEquity.
Dr. Ala Stanford (26:14):
Health Equity.
So, or ASHE as we finally callit.
Folks started coming even afterthey had gotten their vaccine.
And this time they wanted us tolook at their medication list,
or they wanted us to look at alump on their neck.
And they said, Well, you'redoctors, right?
(26:34):
Can you help me figure thisout?
And I realized that thecommunity had come to rely on
us.
And I was already like, okay,I've done my part in history,
I'm going back to the OR, butthey had really come to rely on
us.
And interesting from a businessperspective, which I did not
know this would happen, becauseI had my own practice, I was
(26:57):
able to run that entireoperation with my own
infrastructure.
And so all the people fortesting that had previously been
turned away because they theirdoc wasn't on staff, because
they didn't have insurance orwhatever, I was able to submit
claims for that work.
And I turned a profit of over amillion dollars by doing that.
(27:20):
And I took that money andreinvested it and built the Dr.
A.
Last Stanford Center for HealthEquity.
So that's how we built that10,000 square foot with eight
exam rooms and with pediatricsthrough geriatrics and
everything in between, and alsopsychiatry and behavioral
health.
(27:40):
We're about to open an imagingcenter with CT scan and
ultrasound and mammography andall of that.
But I took the money that Iwasn't expecting to make.
I mean, honestly, I was livinga comfortable life as a surgeon.
So this was bonus.
And I took that and reinvestedit in that community.
And we're now going on fiveyears.
(28:01):
We have our second location.
Um, we've taken care ofthousands of people.
We are a school-based healthcenter for the school district
of Philadelphia, which meansthat kids can come during the
day at any time to get any carethat they need.
And it's one of those examplesof triumph over tragedy that
came from COVID.
(28:22):
And yeah, so I'm very proud ofthat.
Dr. Ralph Ford (28:26):
Well, that that impact will last a long time.
Another example of you being anentrepreneur as well, taking
the initiative and taking therisk that you didn't have to do.
And uh, what if people want todonate?
Dr. Ala Stanford (28:37):
Oh, so bdccares.com.
So it's Black DoctorsConsortium Cares.
It's because doctors carecares.
There's so many things, but thewebsite is bdccares.com, and
then there's something on thereabout support.
Dr. Ralph Ford (28:56):
And even if people didn't get that, easy
enough to find with uh Googlesearch.
But it is important for peopleto know that uh that they can
donate to that good cause andcontinue the work that you're
doing.
Then you go on to become youget nominated by uh President
Biden for an important post.
Dr. Ala Stanford (29:13):
It is, it's been a busy five years.
So when we were doing thatwork, one day people were lined
up around the building, andyoung people keep doing what
you're doing, but a young personvideoed it, and I posted it on
X.
It was still Twitter then, butI posted it and I said just as a
(29:34):
caption, White House COVIDresponse team, where are you?
That's what I wrote.
And I got a call from the WhiteHouse that night.
I was like, oh my gosh, right?
And they asked a Twitter postdude, you so be careful what you
post, okay?
But it was a good thing, andthey said, What do you need?
You know, we see the great workyou're doing, and I said, My
(29:57):
people are burnt out, we needmore.
Support, we need moreresources.
There are communities we justcan't get to.
My folks are getting sick.
Like, and with that, theyconnected me and I with the city
health department, and we wereable to uh lead a FEMA mission.
And with that came personnel,and we went to the public
(30:22):
schools of Philadelphia, and wewere able to go in and vaccinate
the children because by now thekids were starting to get
COVID, and we did have deathsfrom COVID in Philadelphia for
folks under the age of 18.
And by doing that, we doubledthe vaccination rates in a lot
of the schools and saved morechildren.
And so, you know, you neverknow when what you're doing,
(30:45):
you're actually beinginterviewed for a job.
So after I led the FEMAmission, I got called from a
high-ranking uh elected to ask,was I okay with them nominating
me?
And then I was appointed theU.S.
Department of Health and HumanServices Regional Director for,
as you mentioned, Virginia, WestVirginia, Delaware,
(31:06):
Pennsylvania, DC, and Maryland.
Dr. Ralph Ford (31:09):
Biggest thing you learned there?
What was the biggest thing youlearned in that position?
Dr. Ala Stanford (31:14):
I would say the processes to get things done
in a bureaucracy and how to beeffective, you really have to
work with sometimes people youdon't like and find the common
thread and goal so that you bothachieve the desired mission or
(31:36):
opportunity.
The other thing I would say Ilearned is how intertwined
local, state, and federalgovernment is, but people don't
often see that.
They see the mayor, they seetheir city council, and they
don't see how theircongressperson or their senator
(31:57):
is really advocating on theirbehalf, but they are.
So in order for the governor tohave money, that comes from the
federal government.
In order for the city to havemoney, that money comes from the
governor.
And it all starts in DC.
And just being able to connectthe dots and realize sometimes
(32:18):
when I was frustrated, I mighthave been frustrated at the
wrong person and recognizingthat it's all a continuum.
Dr. Ralph Ford (32:26):
You know, I preach here in Penn State,
patience and persistence willwin the day, and uh just takes
time.
But if you if you have those,if you do that, uh you'll you
can be successful.
Well, I want to make sure wehit two more items before we
finish.
And one is that along the wayyou won another award, and I was
there when you got it in NewYork City, which is the
(32:46):
Pennsylvania Society, which isuh, and you won something called
the uh the gold medal awardthat's given out at their annual
event, a great event in NewYork City.
And uh that was a first aswell.
And uh I'll let you tell thestory, but I will say I've been
going for well over a decade, byfar the best acceptance speech
I've ever seen there.
And I say that everyone else inthe room thought the same
(33:08):
thing, too.
Dr. Ala Stanford (33:09):
Thank you.
Wow.
That was a special night.
That was a special night toreally be recognized by my
peers, people who I didn't knowwho knew me from across the
entire Commonwealth.
So urban, suburban, uh rural,honestly, Republican, Democrat,
(33:36):
you know, independent, everyonethat basically recognized that
in a time of need, I had steppedup and led a movement, if you
will.
And it meant a lot and to sharethat with my children and my
husband, and to know that I wasthe first black woman to receive
(33:58):
that in over 112 years to bealongside astronauts and civic
leaders was very special um forme, and how I got reacquainted
with my Erie family and myBehrend family, which I
appreciate so much.
(34:19):
And most of what I said thatnight was not written because
the speech was supposed to be 10minutes.
I think I was like 17 minutesin.
But I just felt so moved, andit was everything was still raw,
you know, everything was stillraw, then.
Um, but I enjoy it, and I'm auh lifelong member, and I'm sure
(34:43):
I'll see you in New York insoon.
Dr. Ralph Ford (34:44):
I will see you there this year.
So yeah.
You're you're a convert to thePA Society, and it really is a
neat place for the leaders ofPennsylvania, you know, and
there's a history behind that,and people scratch their head
why.
But yeah, a lot of leaders fromPA show up in New York City.
Dr. Ala Stanford (34:58):
Why not leave PA?
We're here all the time.
That's right.
Dr. Ralph Ford (35:02):
We have a little fun and it's a great time.
Dr. Ala Stanford (35:04):
We have a great time.
Dr. Ralph Ford (35:05):
Well, I'll tell the you know, a few weeks ago
you send me a text and you said,uh, Ralph, I think I'm gonna
run for Congress.
And uh you called me actually.
True story.
True story, and I think I was alittle bit like, wow.
And uh you since haveannounced, but I I within a day
I recovered and called you backand told you I think you'd be
(35:27):
perfect for that.
You did because I think youwere stunned.
It's uh, you know, politics areso difficult.
That's the reason why.
Like, you know, like yeah youwant to really want to step into
that arena, butcongratulations, you have.
And I think you're in a primaryrace, I believe.
But uh, do you want to talkabout that?
What's moved you to do that?
And no, okay, truly publicservice is is noble, of course.
(35:48):
And uh, you know, we're happyto have you talk about that.
Dr. Ala Stanford (35:52):
So, well, my default is to serve.
That has been my entire life,and gosh, the more I have given,
the more I get back.
People know me locally andnationally from service.
Do you know what I mean?
(36:12):
Not from like bright lights andthe special title, like any
title I have has come from thepeople.
And now that I have thisplatform and when I talk, people
listen and I can advocate, tome, it seems like this is just
(36:33):
the next path at a higher levelto have the most impact for my
community.
And so for it to be inPhiladelphia, which is the
district where I was born, whereI still work, is that much more
special.
And it's a competitive seat.
(36:55):
The uh incumbent at least fivepeople right now.
Oh my gosh, it might be up toeight now.
Okay, but but I would say notmy summation, but what the news
has mentioned that the main fourpeople are myself, State
Senator uh Sharif Street, uh,and two House reps, Chris Robb
(37:17):
and Morgan Seafis.
But I'm proud to say that theincumbent who said he's retiring
and not running endorsed me.
Dr. Ralph Ford (37:26):
Wow, congratulations.
Dr. Ala Stanford (37:27):
Endorsed me uh for the seat and said that I've
demonstrated leadership in themost trying and challenging
times, and that that's what weneed now, not more of the same.
And so I'm excited.
It's been exactly eight days,and my life is forever
different.
Dr. Ralph Ford (37:48):
Is that because of what news media is calling?
Dr. Ala Stanford (37:50):
And lots of that.
Lots of folks want to talkabout support or where I stand.
And I've got a lot of work todo.
You know, the primary is May19th.
I've got 37 wards I've got tomeet with in different
communities that knew me fromCOVID but need to see not just
what I think about health, butabout economic uh stability and
(38:13):
viability in communities, aboutfeeling safer where you live and
work, about putting resourcesinto education in our public
school system, and of course,health, which everyone is
talking about.
Dr. Ralph Ford (38:25):
Sure.
Dr. Ala Stanford (38:25):
Hopefully, by the time this airs, the shutdown
will be over.
But for them to really hear howI will advocate and push for
what we need in Philadelphia, PADistrict 3.
Dr. Ralph Ford (38:37):
Well, congratulations and good luck to
you.
Dr. Ala Stanford (38:40):
Thank you.
Dr. Ralph Ford (38:40):
All right, we're, you know, I'll give you
the last word, but what wouldyour message be?
What's your message going to beto our students this evening?
Dr. Ala Stanford (38:47):
Oh my goodness.
The message to the students,and maybe even what I may have
said to myself when I was incollege, is everyone doesn't see
your vision.
Everyone may not see whatyou're trying to achieve.
But you be true and honest withyourself about where your
(39:13):
strengths are, where yourchallenges may lay, and work
hard to overcome the things thatyou're not great at, but not to
have your dreams be deferred.
And maybe if they're deferred,don't allow them to be denied.
If you choose not to go afterit, let it be because that's
(39:35):
what you want it, not becausesomeone discouraged you.
And, you know, I don't havemuch fear these days, except of
God, and my faith is strong.
And surround yourself withpeople who are about uplifting
you, honest with you, but aboutuplifting you to be your best
(40:00):
self, to find joy in every day,and know that you are uniquely
made, and there's no one elselike you, and there will never
be.
And so make the most of thelife you've been given.
Dr. Ralph Ford (40:15):
Outstanding advice and wisdom.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Thank you for having me.
This was fun.
You've been listening toBehrend Talks.
I'm Chancellor Ralph Ford.
My guest today is theextraordinary Dr.
Ala Stanford, a Behrend grad,done so many wonderful things.
Thank you for being here today.
Dr. Ala Stanford (40:33):
Thank you for having me.
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