USD Magazine, Spring 1996

it!iitiitl ill I LMANAC I

Todd Cote '82 Nanied

California Faniily PbyJician of the Year

"I think I was kind of young," says Cote, who was 34 years old when he received the award. "The award is for positively representing what family prac– tice is supposed to be about, and it's a great honor in that it recognizes what I do, as well what to do. So in that sense, it was important that they chose a young physician." Cote comes across as relaxed and down-to-earth, especially considering his schedule and how much he has accom– plished thus far in his career. After grad– uating from USD, Cote received his medical training at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, then returned to Bakersfield. In the mid-1980s, while still an intern, Cote created a program called "Housecalls for the Homeless." Since then, the program has grown into a com– munity health network, which includes a mobile clinic operated out of a specially equipped van. Cote and his colleagues united workers from a variety of health care fields to establish what is essentially a "hospital on wheels." In addition to running a private prac– tice that includes 4,000 to 5,000 patients, Cote is president of the Kern County Medical Society and devotes time to the Family Practice Speakers Bureau, traveling to elementary and high schools to talk about smoking, AIDS and drug abuse issues. He also is president of the Alliance Against Family Violence, the position in which Cote says he takes the most pride.

"I think structure is very important today. It's missing in so many families. You find that structure in religion," he says. Cote goes on to say that he is not a "goody two-shoes. I have always ques– tioned everything, which is so important to do. That's one reason I'm proud of USD. The professors encourage you to question, to look at different perspec– tives." Cote is fascinated by different perspec– tives, different ways of life and, in par– ticular, indigenous peoples of the world. He and his wife, Jean, a speech and language pathologist, enjoy traveling together, and count among their travel highlights a visit with Australian aborig– ines. In January, the couple joined the organization Helps International Angels of Healing Mercy on a medical mission to Guatemala, providing medical care in remote areas. The trip was an educational one for Cote. "These people, who don't have a lot, have more to teach us than we bring to them," he says. "They know how to be happy." Coincidentally, Cote was returning from another trip to Guatemala last year when he learned he had been named Family Physician of the Year. While he's always been comfortable lobbying the press to gain attention for others, Cote found being in the spotlight for personal achievement a little overwhelming. "I was very humbled by it," he says. "My hope is that it encourages other physicians to rethink why they do things, and encourages their support."

Todd Cote '82 on a medical mission in Guatamala.

When

you're trying to gain media attention to mobilize community action on behalf of the homeless, it helps to know a reporter or two. That's one rea– son Todd Cote '82, M.D., is delighted that so many reporters in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., are also his patients. "I have to talk to the press a lot, so it works to my advantage to keep them happy, and vice versa," he jokes. The media's attention was focused on Cote when the California Academy of Family Physicians presented him with the 1995 Family Physician of the Year Award at the CAFP Annual Scientific Assembly in San Francisco last year. The award is presented to a family physi– cian who embodies the finest characteris– tics of the specialty of family practice.

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