Dr. Farida Bounoua helps patients lose weight surgically, watching them ‘blossom’ afterward.

Many new physicians coming to Lompoc Valley Medical Center are unfamiliar with the area and need to spend a bit of time getting to know the Central Coast.

Dr. Srinivas Vuthoori, LVMC Co-Chair of Internal Medicine and CEO of V2Health, wasn’t expecting much excitement on his American Airlines flight from Miami to Las Vegas this week. But luckily, Dr. Vuthoori was in the proverbial “right place at the right time” when a fellow passenger went into medical distress.

Dr. Mohammad Bakir has lived in New York for the past three years, completing his medical residency at a Brooklyn hospital.

Lompoc Valley Medical Center - Emergency Department physician Dr. James Trettin acknowledges that his father’s career might have influenced his own decision to pursue medical school.

If you follow the career progression that brings Dr. Lee Silkman to Lompoc Health — North Third Center, you should begin at a small clinic in Honduras. It was there that the University of Vermont environmental sciences major had her first exposure to working one-on-one in a healthcare setting.

Dr. Nancy Mutoro was looking for a place to practice medicine, she considered the importance of working for a facility that treats people like individuals, rather than a number. With that philosophy driving her, she found Lompoc Valley Medical Center.

Patients being treated in Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC)’s 60-bed acute care hospital now have their care managed by hospitalists, known as “V2 Health.” The two “V’s” in that name is Dr. Dushyant Viswanathan and Dr. Srinivas Vuthoori. Both internal medicine physicians began working together several years ago in various medical facilities in Palm Desert, before moving to the Central Coast. The physicians, who are joined by Dr. Daryl Chestney, have been handling hospital cases since Aug. 1.

Lompoc Valley Medical Center: Physician Services welcomes Dr. David Cortese to the facility on Third Street, where he will provide a full range of Orthopaedic services to the community. Dr. Cortese is a fellow of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and has additional fellowship training in Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy and Reconstructive Surgery.

In his practice, he surgically repairs and replaces knees and hip joints repairs fractures and takes care of orthopedic ailments. “That’s one of the nice things about practicing and living in Lompoc,” the orthopedic surgeon muses. “There’s obviously things you sacrifice, not only on a personal level but a professional level, but it’s still the personal relationships you develop that are the most rewarding things. People trust you with their lives. That has an impact on me. It’s priceless.”

For many physicians, there is an intensely personal reason they chose their career path.

For Dr. Rahim Raoufi, the reason reaches back into his childhood, growing up in a small, rural area in Iran. There were no doctors there. The residents had difficulty in getting ill people to a medical facility in time.

Despite having impressive credentials that include being Chief of Otolaryngology at Vandenberg Air Force Base’s hospital and having a private practice for 36 years, Dr. Michel says his newest job has been challenging for him.

As Director of Medical Staff Affairs, he serves as a physician adviser to the district’s administration and a liaison between the medical staff and administration, and from the medical staff to all other departments.