Jennifer I. Hui
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL LEWIS
Women have held the highest positions in medicine going back to the Second Dynasty of Egypt, circa 2700 BCE, when Merit-Ptah was thought to be the first female chief physician of the pharaoh’s court.
In the United States, a movement began in the 1970s that saw a spike in women entering and graduating from medical school. While the practice of medicine remains disproportionately male, female physicians now outnumber men in pediatrics and are making huge strides in family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pathology, and psychiatry, according to the Women Physicians Congress.
Even more impressive are the health outcomes. A two-decades-long Florida emergency room study found lower mortality rates in both women and men treated by a female physician. A Harvard study of Medicare patients that found that those treated by women were less likely to die or be readmitted over a 30-day period than those cared for by male doctors.
Who are the exceptional women in medicine in the Coachella Valley?
Palm Springs Life called on the physician-led team of researchers at Castle Connolly to put its rigorous screening process to work to identify the top women practitioners in the desert communities.
Castle Connolly based its selections on peer nominations and acknowledgement of outstanding accomplishments and dedication to the field of medicine. These women have contributed to the advancement of healthcare through clinical care, research, community service, education, and leadership.
DERMATOLOGY
Pamela Broska, M.D.
West Dermatology
72785 Frank Sinatra Drive, Ste. 101
Rancho Mirage
760-969-5900
Wendy E. Roberts, M.D.
35280 Bob Hope Drive, Ste. 105
Rancho Mirage
760-346-4262
FAMILY MEDICINE
Julia Lo Martin, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Eisenhower Medical Associates
Argyros Health Center
45280 Seeley Drive, Third Floor
La Quinta
760-610-7300
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Shubha J. Kerkar, M.D.
Desert Regional Medical Center
Eisenhower Health
DAP Health
1695 N. Sunrise Way
Palm Springs
760-323-2118
INTERNAL MEDICINE
Mary Ann Howell, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
39000 Bob Hope Drive
Probst Building, Ste. 317
Rancho Mirage
760-340-3611
MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
Amy Law, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Desert Hematology–Oncology Medical Group
34490 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage
760-568-3613
Maria Iliana Popescu, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Desert Regional Medical Center
Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center
39000 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage
760-346-7655
OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY
Lisa M. Bodon, M.D.
Desert Regional Medical Center
Eisenhower Health
Desert Valley OB/GYN
1180 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Ste. 425
Palm Springs
760-778-1011
Karen H. Donley, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Eisenhower Medical Associates Women’s Health at Argyros Health Center
45280 Seeley Drive, Third Floor
La Quinta
760-610-7220
Toni L. Long, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Eisenhower Medical Associates Women’s Health at Argyros Health Center
45280 Seeley Drive, Third Floor
La Quinta
760-610-7220
OPHTHALMOLOGY
Camille M. Harrison, M.D.
Coachella Valley Retina
72301 Country Club Drive, Ste. 108
Rancho Mirage
760-895-1993
Jennifer I. Hui, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
The Eyelid Institute
41990 Cook St., Building F, Ste. 1007
Palm Desert
760-610-2677
Xuan T. Le-Nguyen, M.D.
Desert Eye Associates
79710 Highway 111, Ste. 101
La Quinta
760-342-6900
ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
Julie M. Johnson, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital
Desert Orthopedic Center
Harry & Diane Rinker Building
39000 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage
760-568-2684
OTOLARYNGOLOGY
B. Maya Kato, M.D.
The Ear Institute
36867 Cook St., Ste. 103
Palm Desert
760-565-3900
PEDIATRICS
M. Nieves Gutierrez-Go, M.D.
Valley Children’s Medical Center
80495 Highway 111
Indio
760-347-2887
PLASTIC SURGERY
Natalie C. Driessen, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Dermatology & Plastic Surgery Specialists
44311 Monterey Ave.
Palm Desert
760-773-6616
Suzanne M. Quardt, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
70017 Highway 111, Ste. 1
Rancho Mirage
760-324-2660
RADIATION ONCOLOGY
Judy M. Jackson, M.D.
Desert Regional Medical Center
City of Hope National Medical Center
Desert Regional Comprehensive Cancer Center
1180 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Ste. E218
Palm Springs
760-416-4770
Vasudha Lingareddy, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center
39000 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage
760-674-3600
RHEUMATOLOGY
Maria W. Greenwald, M.D.
Eisenhower Health
Desert Medical Advances
72855 Fred Waring Drive, Ste. A6
Palm Desert
760-341-6800
SURGERY
Janet K. Ihde, M.D.
Desert Regional Medical Center
Desert Regional Comprehensive Cancer Center
1180 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Ste. E150
Palm Springs
760-416-4915
• READ NEXT: The Desert’s Top Oncologists.