National Doctor’s Day

Profiles of Dominican physicians Dr. Julie Jaffe and Dr. Rajinder Singh

By Anastasia Elgina

National Doctors’ Day shines a spotlight on physicians across the country, honoring them for their important contributions. Dominican Hospital has over 500 physicians that perform hundreds of procedures each year.

Who are these exceptional individuals and what do they have to say about their work? In this article we will be spotlighting two of Dominican’s exceptional individuals who save lives every day: Dr. Julie Jaffe and Dr. Rajinder Singh.

Dr. Julie Jaffe graduated from Yale University of Medicine, completed her residency at Harvard University/Bingham and Women’s Hospital, and worked as an Oncologist/Hematologist in Pennsylvania prior to moving to Santa Cruz in 2012. Since then she has already received several awards, including Patients Choice Award and the Compassionate Doctor Recognition, granted to physicians who treat their patients with the utmost kindness.

“I fell in love with the sense of being in a very close-knot community, with honestly the most warm, friendly people of anywhere I have ever lived,” says Dr. Jaffe about Santa Cruz. “Another huge draw to me in coming to Santa Cruz was the physicians who are well trained and extremely up-to-date in their fields. As an oncologist, I rely heavily on my fellow physicians from multiple different specialties and my care will only be as good as the colleagues working with me.”

Dr. Jaffe practices out of the new Mary and Richard Solari Cancer Center located on Mission Drive. The Center was made possible by a generous gift from Mary Solari whose husband and father both passed away from cancer. Several programs at the Cancer Center are funded by private donations, such as the Sydney Jackson Patient Support Fund. This fund was created by Don Jackson in honor of his wife Sydney, a prior patient of Dr. Jaffe’s, and was established for those with financial difficulties relating to their cancer diagnosis and treatment.

“It is very touching to me to see my patients and families the desire to give back to the community and find ways to help others with cancer. Some patients sadly tell me that these financial issues are more stressful than the cancer itself. Private support has allowed us to enhance our cancer care in so many ways,” says Dr. Jaffe.

The Cancer Center has recently established an affiliation with Stanford University, which will allow Dominican to offer clinical trials to patients in Santa Cruz. This will enable patients to access promising new drugs that are only available through a clinical study close to home rather than needing to travel to larger centers such as Stanford or UCSF.

Dr. Rajinder Singh received his medical degree from the Medical College in Guru Nanak University in Amritsar, India and has been in practice for over 40 years, most of them in Santa Cruz. Specializing in cardiology, he is a part of the team of nine cardiologists and cardiac surgeons available 24/7 to respond to heart attacks.

At Dominican, Dr. Singh is looked to as a leader and an in-house expert on cardiac interventions. “He always has the latest studies and insight from the industry at his fingertips,” says Sarah Edmundson, Director of Cardiovascular Services. In 2014 Dr. Singh received an award from his MD peers and staff, for being their valued mentor, statesman and scholar. He now also serves as Medical Chief of Staff for Cardiology, bringing critical feedback to the team regarding case quality, evidence based practice, and applied cardiac technology.

When asked what he likes about Santa Cruz, he also mentioned the warm and friendly people. “I am humbled and grateful for having the privilege to care for our patients,” says Dr. Singh.

And the patients respond. “Dr. Singh gets to the root of the issue immediately, making you feel that YOU are his only patient,” said Crystal R. “… in our opinion, he is a ROCK STAR.”

“I have enjoyed working at Dominican Hospital because of its ongoing commitment to provide excellent medical care to everyone rich or poor. We are fortunate to have some highly skilled and talented nurses, technicians, and doctors. The quality of care in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery ranks with the very best,” says Dr. Singh,

Dominican Hospital has an impressive heart attack response time. With a door-to-cath lab time for treatment averaging 46 minutes, compared to the national average of 90 minutes, and it is in the upper 95% performance rank for patients who receive emergency heart attack care in the country.

“The practice of medicine requires lifelong learning and improvement. It is a quest, that makes medicine such a fascinating and fulfilling career,” says Dr. Singh.

The cardiac team at Dominican has big plans, including the modernization of the Cardiac Catheter Lab and a new hybrid operating room for heart surgeries. This project is one of the key initiatives of the Dominican Hospital Foundation.