South LA woman returns to community as a doctor
Psychiatrist Dr. Yamanda Edwards was the subject of a profile published April 3, 2018 on Kaiser Health News titled, “Psychiatrist Stays Close To Home And True To Her Childhood Promise.”
The article by Anna Gorman tells the story of a little girl in South Los Angeles who grows up to fulfill her childhood dream of being a doctor at the hospital serving the community where she grew up.
“Dr. Edwards is a real treasure—and so wonderfully reflective of the heart of the work going on here.” – Dyan Sublett, President, MLK Community Health Foundation
When, as a medical student at Charles Drew/UCLA in South Los Angeles, Dr. Edwards encountered people hospitalized for mental health crises, she understood—and felt called to answer—the need for psychiatric care in minority communities.
The article introduces readers not only to Dr. Edwards, but also to one of her patients, as well as providing a glimpse of the challenges faced daily at our hospital when providing acute medical care for people with psychiatric conditions.
Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit online news service focused on providing in-depth coverage of healthcare policy and politics. It’s a trusted syndicated resource for other news outlets. Since its publication on khn.org, the story about Dr. Edwards has been featured on the websites of NBC News, U.S. News & World Report, Washington Post, and California Healthline, among others.