Abington Hospital Doc Named CNN 'Top 10 Hero'

ABINGTON, PA — A Montgomery County pediatric surgeon has been recognized by CNN for her outstanding work in protecting and providing care to some of the most vulnerable and underserved communities in the region.

Jefferson Abington Hospital's Dr. Ala Stanford was recently named to CNN's Top 10 Heroes list, a group of individuals "making the world a better place."

Here's what CNN has to say about Stanford's work:

"Throughout the pandemic, people of color have been devastated by Covid-19 in the US -- dying at a much greater rate than white Americans. Now, as deaths have fallen with increased vaccinations, those dying are younger and more disproportionately Black. Since April 2020, Dr. Ala Stanford has been working to change that. Her group, the Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium, has brought testing and vaccines to more than 75,000 residents of Philadelphia's minority neighborhoods."

It's not the first time that Stanford has received national attention and accolades for her impressive work. She also came in at number 23 last year on Fortune Magazine's World's 50 Greatest Leaders.

The Consortium was launched near the start of the pandemic, as Stanford relates to Fortune.

"The majority of the testing sites were in affluent white neighborhoods," Stanford told the outlet. "There was no testing in the communities where people were dying the most. So we created it."

With a rented van and protective gear from the hospital, Stanford went out into the community and starting conducting tests in underserved neighborhoods.

In time, this turned into a much larger effort that also involved improving vaccine access and equity.

Other top 10 heroes include a woman delivering water in war torn Colombia, a man whose fitness program is preventing recidivism in prisons, and more. The public can vote on their choice for hero here.