Yuma native makes impact as a doctor in rural Kansas

Dr. Kristina Diaz's rural beginnings in the desert Southwest helped prepare her for her experience as a resident physician in a similar rural town in the Midwest.

Junction City, Kan., is nearly 1,300 miles away from Yuma, but both cities are agricultural communities with a large Hispanic farming population.

This month Diaz joined Geary Community Hospital in Junction City as a second-year family practice resident through the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.

She will spend the next two years studying with fellow resident physicians who are also part of the University of Kansas Family Practice Residency-Junction City Rural Track.

Diaz is the daughter of Tom Van Hassel, Yuma Regional Medical Center's director of pharmacy, and registered nurse Pat Van Hassel. She is also a Yuma High School graduate, Class of 1997.

Despite her experience in the medical field as a pharmacy technician during both high school and college, Diaz graduated in 2002 from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing.

"I didn't grow up thinking I was going to save lives."

She hadn't even received her official UA degree when she drove by a hospital in Tucson and suddenly came to the realization that she wanted to become a doctor. The next month she re-enrolled at UA in the pre-med program to obtain a minor in chemistry.

Diaz received her medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, in 2007. She did her book work in Dominica and performed her clinical work in New York City, N.Y., at Mary Immaculate Hospital through New York Medical College.

In New York City she became fluent in Spanish and gained a better perspective of other cultures and how they interact with the medical community.

She met her husband, Robert, in Miami during a six-week elective rotation that turned into seven months. She took him back to New York City with her, and they have been married for three years.

"He's the wonderful man that put up with medical school," she said.

Diaz said she chose to practice family medicine because it's flexible and gives her the ability to treat the medical needs of the entire family. She is particularly interested in women's health and obstetrics, and enjoys educating women about their bodies.

Diaz is an asset to Geary Community Hospital because she is the only female Spanish-speaking doctor in Junction City. In fact, she has one patient who drives 40 miles for an appointment with her because she refuses to be seen by anyone else.

"Overall, I feel that having been raised in Yuma was a great preparation to living in a similar rural community and has helped me learn the importance of finding joy in actively serving my community," she said.