Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1482624
10 | Health Matters: Providence St. Joseph Hospital insightful for her to realize that one end is the neurology, and the other gynecology." ROBERT DEL JUNCO AND MICHAEL DEL JUNCO: FAMILY PRIDE You might think that Michael del Junco, MD— a primary care physician at Providence St. Joseph—following his father, head and neck surgeon Robert del Junco, MD, into medicine was a given. But not really, even though their paths were very similar. Robert, who has been on the hospital's medical staff for 35 years, recalls, "I graduated from high school and was given advanced placement as a junior at USC . After six months at USC, I applied and was accepted to medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico. After graduation I was accepted to a head and neck residency training program. I was very young. While I was living in Mexico I developed a huge appreciation for the United States and a realization that I really wanted to care for people." He and his wife, Debbie, didn't expect any of their four sons to become doctors. In fact, it wasn't until Michael graduated from UC Berkeley and worked in research for two years that he told his dad, "Hey, I think I want to be a doctor." Michael attended medical school in Grenada, in the West Indies, then found his way to Providence St. Joseph about a year ago. "Because of my father, I have such a connection to this hospital," says Michael, "with its commitment to quality care, and as a religious-based institution. We came to church at the St. Joe's chapel every Sunday, and I did Saturday rounds with my dad. The number one reason I'm here? My dad." "You have no idea how much pride I have," says Robert, "seeing my son do this work, seeing people I have known for 20 or 30 years who are now Michael's patients. He really helps them." Since they have the same last name and Michael and his wife, Patrice—and their baby, Charlotte, who was born in September—live with his parents, they often get mixed up. Robert says he's fine with that. "My father (who was also a doctor at Providence St. Joseph) once told me to get over myself, that I was not the important person. What was important was the hospital. "And to see Michael share those values is a comfort," he adds. "I wish there were more like him ... We need them." Richard Kim and Anita Gregory Brian Boyd and Lilly Ramirez-Boyd