YRMC doctor lives at hospital

Dr. Greg Warda says there are two kinds of memories. "There are good memories and there are the bad ones. There are memories that are really tragic, where we get humbled. ...

"Sometimes as physicians we do things and the patients get better ... And there are patients were we do everything, and they don't get better, or they die, and that is the humbling part."

Warda works at Yuma Regional Medical Center in neonatology, which is the study of newborn infants in the first 28 days of their lives.

Warda came to YRMC in 1998 and has been the hospital's only neonatologist for eight years. He said that he virtually lives at the hospital.

In between patients, deliveries, paperwork and educational discussions, he tries "to squeeze in shaving and getting a shower, and then if I'm here for a longer period of time ... (I try) to get someone to check my mail at home, or help me with my laundry or even bring some food from the grocery store. It gets to be interesting."

Growing up, Warda said, he wasn't focused on becoming a doctor, but his grandparents encouraged it.

It was not until he entered college and had summer jobs working at hospitals with different physicians that Warda decided to go to medical school. He attended the Autonomous University of Guadalajara and graduated in 1976.

He began practicing medicine in the eastern part of the U.S. and eventually decided to move to Colorado. In Colorado, Warda put together outreach education programs that reached out to doctors, nurses and other hospitals. People started to compare him to a previous doctor at the hospital named Harris.

"Little by little I found that (Dr. Harris and I) had similar styles and I kept thinking I would like to meet him someday. So all of a sudden this ad came up for a position in Yuma, and it had Dr. Harris' name, so I ... came down for an interview ... and thought it would be a great opportunity.

"We're very similar with a lot of things. Little did I know he was actually retiring, so two weeks after I got here he left. ...So that is how it all started."

Warda said that the past eight years have been a challenge. But it feels good to be part of what goes on at the hospital, especially when he and the staff have helped to save a baby's life.

Throughout his 30 years as a physician Warda can remember close calls, and also great joy when it came to his tiny patients.

Before coming to YRMC, Warda recalls working at a hospital where he dealt with a baby that had its head out, but its body was stuck for over half an hour inside its mother. The umbilical cord had been compressed and "I decided to incubate the baby, which means put a tube down the wind pipe" till an obstetrician could get there, said Warda.

For half an hour, the baby had no blood flow and the staff was beginning to prepare the mother for the tragic news. "We all knew in our minds that this baby was dead," said Warda.

When the obstetrician finally arrived, the baby was pulled out and cardiac massages and resuscitation were done on the baby.

"We kept doing the resuscitation and we put an IV in to give it some medication, and when I turned around my arm was covered with blood, ... and all of a sudden the baby turned bright pink and there was a heartbeat. ... And two weeks later, the baby went home and actually was doing well. ... Last I heard (the baby was) about 7 or 6 years of age."

Although working at the hospital with babies has been a challenging and rewarding experience, Warda said that he will welcome the help from a new neonatologist coming to YRMC in September.

"I think what is so appealing for all of us that work in the neonatal unit is there is nothing sadder than when a baby dies or is so sick that their life is affected. But the vast majority of these babies can be so sick and get better just within days or weeks or months. You get to see a baby that needs help and can be quite sick ... but to see them get better just within such a short period of time is always really rewarding."