A Conversation with Ala Stanford, M.D. and FOX29’s Mike Jerrick

Dr. Stanford will be discussing her book, Take Care of Them Like My Own:  Faith, Fortitude, and a Surgeon's Fight for Health Justice.

Wednesday, October 23    
6:30—8:30 p.m.    
Penn State Abington

Registration is required. Tap here to register!    

Join the Abington Township Public Library as we welcome author, Ala Stanford, M.D. to Penn State Abington's campus in the historic Sutherland Building.

Dr. Stanford will be discussing her book, Take Care of Them Like My Own:  Faith, Fortitude, and a Surgeon's Fight for Health Justice.

This free event will be held at the Sutherland Building on Penn State Abington's campus, 1600 Woodland Rd., Abington, PA 19001. Registration is required.

There will be a book signing after the event and an opportunity to take photos with Dr. Stanford.  Books will be available for purchase at the event.

This event is in partnership with Penn State Abington and Capricorn Books.

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About the Author:

ALA STANFORD, M.D., is a pediatric surgeon, founder of the Black Doctors Consortium and a national leader in health equity, a health care policy advisor and former regional director of the US Department of Health and Human Services of the mid-Atlantic appointed by President Biden. Dr. Stanford is a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the School of Arts and Sciences with additional appointments in Perelman School of Medicine and Annenberg School for Communication. A practicing physician for over twenty years and founder of R.E.A.L. Concierge Medicine, Dr. Stanford is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery in both pediatric and adult general surgery. She is a medical and health correspondent for national media outlets.

Dr. Stanford’s book, Take Care of Them Like My Own is part memoir and part manifesto for health equality and justice was released August 2024 (Simon and Schuster Publishing). It offers urgent lessons about the power of communities working together to take care of one another and the importance of fighting for a healthcare system that truly fulfills its promise to all Americans. Her book has been listed on the 2024 Springer Nature Great Books in Global Health and Number 1 on the Amazon Best Seller list in three categories: Medical Biography, Public Health and Racism and Discrimination. Take Care of Them Like My Own has been celebrated in local and national media to include NPR/Fresh Air with Terry Gross, ABC Nightly News with Linsey Davis, MSNBC with Ali Velshi and the TODAY Show with Sheinelle Jones. Notable reviews on the book jacket are from Actor Will Smith and Drew Weissman, MD, 2023 Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine for his discovery that enabled the biological technology used in the COVID 19 RNA vaccine.

Dr. Stanford gained international recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic using the infrastructure of her pediatric surgery practice to create a grassroots organization focused on education, testing, contact tracing, and vaccination in communities lacking access to care and resources. She and her team provided dire care for hundreds of thousands, and countless others nationwide through her messaging. She subsequently opened a multidisciplinary ambulatory care center bearing her name, in a neighborhood in Philadelphia with one of the lowest life expectancies in the city. Dr. Stanford has received many awards and honors, including a Top 10 CNN Hero, one of Fortune Magazine’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” and one of Forbes’s Most Influential Women. She has also received the American College of Surgeons 2023 Domestic Surgical Volunteerism Award and the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award. She was selected as 2024 Distinguished Alumni from The Pennsylvania State University, and the City of Philadelphia commissioned a street in her name. She lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her husband and children. 

 

About Mike Jerrick:

Mike Jerrick re-joined the FOX 29 News team as co-host of "Good Day Philadelphia" in July 2009. Long-time viewers will remember him as a show co-host from 1999 to 2002.

Prior to his return to Philadelphia, Mike was co-host of "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet," which aired on FOX television stations around the country.

Prior to that, he was the co-host of "DaySide," Fox News Channel's daily live audience daytime talk show, and he appeared as a recurring guest co-anchor for the WNYW-FOX 5 morning program, "Good Day New York." Mike joined FOX News Channel as weekend co-host of "FOX and Friends" after leaving "Good Day Philadelphia" in October 2002.

Before coming to FOX 29, Mike was managing editor and anchor on "America Afterhours," a live, national newsmaker and celebrity interview program on CNBC. He also hosted "What's News" for the national cable television network America's Talking.

Earlier in his career, Mike hosted "Sci-Fi Buzz" on USA Network's Sci-Fi Channel from 1991 to 1997. He also produced and hosted HBO's "World Entertainment Report" from 1991 to 1994. He produced and reported for KCAL-TV and for "Evening Magazine" on KPIX-TV (CBS) in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Prior to that, he spent five years as the host of "Alive & Well," a national program on the USA Network that focused on health and fitness. He began his career in 1981 as the producer and host of "P.M. Magazine," at WNYW-TV in New York.

A ten-time Emmy Award winner, Mike earned his Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas.