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20 making a difference: Health

Dr. Rebecca Rivera has delivered approximately 5,000 infants in her 11 years as an OB-GYN and as if that were not enough babies, she is also the mother of four.

As a bilingual Latina mother and working woman, Rivera sees her patients as women in need of medical care with individualized questions and concerns.    
  
The 48-year-old has her own private practice in Kern County, serving predominately Latinas and low-income patients as well as patients with a range of backgrounds — all in a spirit of compassion, cultural competence and great enthusiasm.

“I love to bring life into this world. I love being around babies. I love it,” she said.

Rivera defines the type of medicine she applies to her practice as old-fashioned medicine; winning her patients trust by remembering each patient’s name and face, rather than just glancing at a chart.

“If I treat the patients with respect and dignity, they will always be there,” Rivera said.

Rivera points out that some of the health care challenges Latinas face is a lack of patient-physician communication and potential cultural misunderstanding that can exacerbate health issues.

She has noticed a reticence to speak about certain health issues amongst Latinas, especially recent immigrants who are more sheltered than second- or third-generation Latina-Americans who are fluent in English and openly share their health concerns.

“Patients are always coming by and saying how refreshing it is to have someone to speak Spanish with. And being a Latina, I can’t tell you the amount of times women tell me about their sexual relations or lack of sexual relations that they say they can’t  talk with anyone else about,” Rivera said.

Because Rivera is in the “life” business, there is no lack of demand — she can be as busy as she wants to be.

A year ago, Rivera delivered up to two babies a day; currently, she is delivering one baby a day.

At this point in her career, however, Rivera wants to spend quality time with her patients and does not want to rush them in and out.

“Money is not everything. As a mother, I also want time for my family, and I don’t want to miss out on early parts of my kids’ childhood,” Rivera said.