New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
(Photo by Josh Souza) Meet Michael Rocha, 41 year-old Cardiologist. Michael grew up in New Bedford and graduated from NBHS in 1993.
He finished his undergrad in chemistry at UMass Dartmouth and it was during this time he realized that he wanted to go into healthcare, as he had a passion for helping people. He began his Doctor of Medicine at UMass Medical School and during his residency/fellowship at Tufts Medical Center, he specialized in Cardiology.
He knew that he wanted to come back to New Bedford and give back to the community that he grew up in, so upon completion Michael moved back and became a cardiologist with Hawthorn Medical Associates. He takes pride in helping patients, not just through prescriptions for medications, but by prescribing lifestyle changes, knowing most heart disease can be prevented by diet, exercise, avoiding smoking and stress reduction.
This also goes hand in hand with another initiative that Michael is involved with, like New Bedford Wellness Initiative. In 2014, New Bedford was dubbed as the least healthy in Massachusetts for people age over 65 and he couldn’t sit back and let that continue. Working together with other physicians and local groups he helped start New Bedford Well, which started with a walk around Buttonwood park that raised awareness for the health issues. Now they hold a Sunday wellness program at the Boys and Girls Club focused on diet, exercise and stress reduction along with a pop-up farmers market.
Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com
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