"This is my favorite place in the whole world,” says Dr. Timothy Jochen. “I’ve traveled everywhere, and I always am so happy to come home.”
Dr. Jochen founded Contour Dermatology 13 years ago when he moved to the Coachella Valley after completing a residency at Tulane University Medical Center in New Orleans. “I started my practice here for a lot of reasons,” he says. “The most important is the sense of community. It’s a place where you can run into friends and acquaintances wherever you go.”
His practice consists of one-third medical dermatology, one-third cosmetic dermatology, and one-third surgical dermatology. “We’ve been really fortunate to have grown so much over the years,” he says. “I started out with myself and two assistants and now we have five medical providers and a staff of more than 40 people.”
“Everyone in the valley is very supportive. In a very short period of time, I had a practice built. We have grown mainly by referral. The majority of our new patients come from physician referral and patients who refer their family and friends,” he says.
“One of the real benefits of living here is the affordability. In this market, I was actually able to buy land and build my own state-of-the-art facility within 10 years of practice. I don’t really believe that I could be as successful anywhere else in the world.”
Lifestyle perks in the desert are also key to his happiness, Dr. Jochen says. “The Coachella Valley is amazing for so many reasons to me. The people are awesome. The architecture I love. I love the climate. We have access to Vegas and San Diego. I’ll get in my car and go skiing on a Sunday. I also love the proximity to Los Angeles,” says Dr. Jochen who also teaches dermatology at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles as an assistant clinical professor.
“There are people who come here from all over the world to live, and when you have a conversation with someone here, you’ll find that they really have something to say and you can learn something from just about everyone. The Coachella Valley is a great place to call home.”