Dr. Sylvia Morris and Dr. Angela Walker sit down with one of their classmates from Georgetown, Lisa Burgos Hernandez, MD, MPH. She shares her life as a wife, mother, sister, and medical practitioner who found her life’s purpose in serving the community through public health. Dr. Lisa talks about the biggest lessons she learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed her to go back to basics and look at her methods from a different perspective. She also discusses the importance of having a reliable support system, the power of perseverance, and the benefits of being adaptable and humble.
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Finding Purpose In Public Health With Dr. Lisa Burgos Hernandez
Let’s Go Back To Basics
Coffee
We are excited to have a conversation with Lisa Burgos Hernandez. Full disclosure, she is one of our classmates from Georgetown, but we will get to all of that. I am thinking about coffee, and I know it’s very strange. However, Lisa Burgos is the reason why I drink Bustelo coffee. If I’m perfectly honest, I started drinking coffee in medical school and we would go to a place called It’s Your Mug, and that’s where I started drinking breves, which is half and half and espresso. Now I am to the point where I probably drink three shots of espresso with a little splash of half and half with no sugar. I have made a huge transition. Angela, what’s your coffee beverage of choice?
I guess just coffee and cream, honestly. If I’m out somewhere, it’s usually a latte or a cappuccino. I’ve got to have milk in it. Honestly, I’ll drink pretty much anything. You are the person who turned me onto breves. Although right now, I’m away from dairy. I don’t think the breve can be done with the non-dairy. I haven’t tried it. It’s just not as creamy. That helped me get away from sugar in my coffee and I was like, “I can do this.”
I go back and forth, but it doesn’t really matter. My youngest daughter is a barista and so she is definitely a coffee snob. I get talked about when I put in the Kirkland brand, a Keurig in my Krupps thing in the kitchen. I just need it fast. I don’t have time to don’t worry about buying me a whole espresso machine or even the French press. It’s great. When I’m out somewhere, that’s what I’d like. When I wake up in the morning, now I am good enough. I get my water in first, but then I just need a cup of coffee. As long as I can put some cream in there, I’m going to be good. Yeah, it varies on what I have, but what does not vary is I need a cup of coffee to get started in the morning.
Transparency. I actually have a coffee maker, not quite a Mr. Coffee that I had all throughout medical school, but yeah, I percolate my coffee in the morning and drop my cream in and keep it pushing. Let’s welcome our guest. Welcome Lisa Burgos Hernandez.
It’s good to see you.
I’m happy that you are here and that you are going to share your journey, your boss leaps. I can’t wait to get into our conversation. I remember sitting at your mom’s table in her kitchen in Miami, drinking Bustelo. That’s my first coffee memory. What’s yours?
I would say it’s about the same thing. Drinking coffee, it didn’t start until probably high school. Actually, I do remember one of my first coffee experiences, which didn’t end well during my chemistry exam in high school, but we won’t talk about that. We’ll talk about the good stuff. That was doing the same thing, having coffee across the table with my mom and sister.
Another full disclosure is that the table was right in front of a window that you could see out into the neighborhood. We sat there and talked but also had the curtains open so we could see who was passing by and going, “We know him,” or, “Who’s that? Someone’s new.” That was part of the whole time together. It was not only sharing each other and having a good cup of coffee but also spying on the neighborhood and knowing who was doing what they were supposed to do and not doing what they were supposed to do. That type of thing.
Twin Sister
I think when you can tie it to memories. I’m always good for the tea. I guess, in this instance, the coffee. You mentioned, Lisa, that you have a sister and you actually have a twin sister. Tell me what you’ve learned from having a twin sister.
Besides sharing, which is something that you have to do, whether it’s sharing your birthday, your room, your time with your parents, your birthday cake, that was something. We shared everything. That was one thing. The other thing was having empathy and being able to listen and to understand someone else’s point of view, even when you thought you were right because I always think I’m right and actually, I am.
Most often, you are right, Lisa.
Also, really being an empath and knowing that there are other people’s points of view that really matter and that you have to listen and understand and also compromise.
Career Journey
I haven’t talked to you in quite a while and I want to actually ask you something I’ve been dying to ask about because I’m just fascinated. I’m just going to jump right into it, Lisa, with your career path. I am very proud of you and all that you’ve done. I know that after medical school, you have practiced in the public health arena and you’ve got your Master’s in Public Health.
You’re currently at Santa Cruz County as the Public Health Officer, but you are also at the City of Berkeley at the beginning and height of the pandemic. Along those lines, being an empath obviously helps one to be in medicine. You could probably write a book right now, but can you give us some insight into what that was like being at this momentous time in our country’s history? I’m sure you learn about pandemics and things of that nature go in your training. What was that like to actually put all that into play?
Yeah, it was pretty interesting. One, we saw it coming. We saw some of it happening and, as you mentioned, Angela, like we were trained and we did exercises, scenarios and what have you. It wasn’t until you are really in it that you really had to put everything that you learned to practice. We saw it coming. Especially in Berkeley, we had those conversations. One of the conversations, to be quite honest, is, “Are we going to be in it for the long haul as a city?”
In California, most of the health departments are in county structures. There are only three cities in the state that have a health department and a health officer. Berkeley’s one. There are two in Southern California, Pasadena and Long Beach. I think we are one of the smallest but one of the oldest health departments. It was a conversation about do we do this as a city or do we just work with our county sister to do the work and let them do the work and we would support them. That was one of the conversations we had.
I was pretty honest because I didn’t know how long it would be that we would be responding. I knew that it was going to take an enormous amount of resources, not only internally, but externally in the community and within the city staff as well. The answer was yes, we’re in it. We did it. I was fortunate to have support from the city leadership, the mayor, my boss, the city manager, all those things really helped. Also, not only support but trust. Because we really didn’t know what we were dealing with.
The other thing that I would say was important was having a network, and we’ll talk about this later, I’m sure, in terms of supports that are beyond just the folks that you work with day in and day out, but also your networks and one of which was what we called the Association of Bay Area Health Officers or ABAHO. It’s an interesting name, but it really is a group of thirteen health jurisdictions in the Bay Area that we’ve been getting together since the ‘80s, since the HIV epidemic.
It is important to have a strong network of people who will provide the support you need as you work day in and day out. Share on XWe really met twice a month. Every other month we had dinner in person and we ate and we also had an agenda. It wasn’t that we were just chatting and socializing, though that was part of it. We also really had conversations about issues that we were dealing with. That network and that response helped. It was a lot of doing stuff, learning, and pulling from our experiences, as well as just having the trust and the coordination within the city that helped. It was hard. It’s still really hard. I could talk probably this whole time on the pandemic, so, but I’ll stop there. I answered your question or if you have follow-up questions, I could talk about it.
Public Health
Thank you very much for sharing that. Let’s move back. Public health. Certainly, I have a Master’s in Public Health. I know it’s the best thing that I’ve ever done because it helps me think about communities. The reason I went into medicine was to help communities. Tell me, how did you come to public health as a career?
Yeah, we could step back, too. I think that’s a great way of looking at it. As Angela mentioned, I went to medical school with you guys and decided to do OB-GYN and did a residency in OB and practiced for about four and a half years. In between there, I had my kids. I got married to another classmate. He actually was the year behind us. Once we finished our residencies, we moved to New Mexico, where we practiced. I was practicing OB-GYN and I enjoyed it. However, I kept having these conversations, inner conversations with myself about like, “These women here, why are they coming with advanced breast cancer?”
I had a young woman who I diagnosed with cervical cancer. It was very obvious from her exam that she had cervical cancer. It wasn’t even like I had to wait for the results of a pap smear. I won’t get into the details on that. We had conversations, she and I. She actually had moved from the East Coast to New Mexico and had insurance and she had moved for her job. I said, “Why didn’t you come in sooner?” It was more that she didn’t realize that it was important for her to do screening exams. I had an elderly lady that I diagnosed with breast cancer. She didn’t have access to care as often as she needed. She actually had to rely on other people to take her to the hospital or to her doctor’s offices. She wasn’t unique in that situation where access was really part of the issue.
I started thinking about where I can make the biggest difference in the world or in my world? I realized after talking to my husband, actually one of his classmates went into public health and then had conversations with him and realized that that’s what I wanted to do. I put my career on hold, changed directions, moved to California, did my second residency, and then started working in public health. That’s a snapshot as to my career, why did I change?
I didn’t realize it until later that I was thinking about public health, even in med school, because we had a talk at one of our classes where this man came in. I didn’t realize who he was, but one of the things he said to us was that we could use our white coats to advocate for our communities and how powerful it was to be a physician and how we could advocate for communities because of the fact that we were a physician.
Doctors must use their white coats to advocate for their communities. Share on XI didn’t realize how important that was and how it applies in my life now. Who he was, he was actually the health officer of Washington, DC and that was pretty neat and powerful reflecting on it. Also, he motivated me and another classmate to do some work in the community. I didn’t realize until I was getting my MPH and doing my residency that he had planted the seed, and now it was growing.
I’ve known you since medical school, but not known. I have to say for the audience that doesn’t know, for someone to do a residency and OB-GYN, which is grueling because that’s what I’ve done, and then to have the bandwidth, the heart, the fortitude to then go on and do another residency because I can’t imagine doing another one after that, is huge. That’s commendable. I think it’s an example of following your heart. I just have to put that out there because I don’t know that I remember that you did OB-GYN and now have gone on to just do amazing things. That’s amazing.
You’re making boss leap moves.
That is a true definition of a boss leap move. Following your heart and doing what you’re led to do.
Advice To Younger Self
Lisa, what would you tell the young woman who would be walking the halls of Georgetown? What would you say to her? What advice would you have for her?
I think that I would say continue with medicine because it’s the foundation for many great things in the future. It’s not going to be easy. Maybe it will be. If it is easy, awesome. For my experience, it was a long, hard journey and totally worth it. I would say continue with medicine and also on your path, build a community. That’s something that I would say I learned late in college and definitely learned it in med school. It was hard to realize how important it was not only for having study groups and being able to get through exams, but also, it’s your support.
You could talk to them and do some gut checks with them and say, “What do you think about this? Did you see that? Did you hear that?” It’s really important. I remember being in, I think it was neurology. I can’t remember which rotation it was. I was the shortest, Brownest person there. That was different for me. Being able to come back and finishing that rotation or the day’s work and coming back and talking to my friends was really helpful because sometimes you are the only one in that rotation or in the office or the room or the exam room lecture. It’s important to have that community to come back to.
We talk about that in The Game Plan, the book we wrote. It’s just not taking for granted your community. Not only building a community, but also those people that have gotten you to the point that you are at for that college student or the med school student is still be intentional about the relationships that are meaningful. Don’t put them on hold and don’t wait because investing time in those relationships is going to continue to be beneficial to you. It’s helpful as we move along just to realize we’ve got to have that community each step of the way. You can’t just wait, “Once I get to this point, then I’ll take the time for them.” Very good, Lisa.
Lisa, we definitely have had some times. I remember in med school where we had the big snowstorm and there was seventeen inches of snow on the streets of Washington, DC and you came by and you picked me up maybe two blocks from my house in a little Tercel. No, we didn’t go to the library. We probably had finished studying, but we went to Lord and Taylor’s to do a little retail therapy. When you talk about community, I’ve stayed with you and your husband at various points where I was studying at a place far from my residency.
Community Building
You took me to the airport when I moved to Seattle to go for training. I remember bursting into tears at the airport because I was so terrified. I even get emotional just thinking about it. You have always shown up for me. You mentioned having community and having a tribe or a group of people around you. Can you talk a little bit more about how you like people to show up for you? Certainly, you show up. You are a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife. You are a friend. You are a public health leader. I’m probably leaving off you. Fashionista. Budding shoe model. All of those things. How is it that you’d like people to show up for you? How do you manage all those different hats? Long question, I know.
Show up for me just to be there, and if I call or if you have time, talk to me. Sometimes, it’s about sharing news, good or bad, but it’s also just having a conversation about maybe the shopping spree or trip. Sylvia, you travel. I don’t. It’s about hearing about your ventures, what you learned, and your exposures, and that is something that’s really important to me.
Pushing me. You push me and you say, “What are you doing for yourself?” Having that little reminder, and even in the question that you just asked, it’s like, what are you doing to care for yourself? I think that’s important, but it’s more about just having that place of familiarity and comfort and just conversation. I need someone to listen.
Some people like to problem solve for you. I would say I actually do that to my kids and they’re like, “I did not call you for you to solve my problem. I called you so that you could hear what’s going on and what’s happening.” An example was my son who called me. I wanted to solve his problem. He doesn’t want that. Most times, I don’t want that either. It’s just to be there to listen. How do you balance things? How do I balance things? I will say, most times, I compartmentalize everything. I have a task. I have a to-do list. I still write things down.
I love pen and paper. Absolutely.
Yeah. I thought I was going to use my ipad to take notes and to organize stuff but I still have to-do lists that I do for, “This is what I need to do for home. This is all the things that I need to do for work.” When I have meetings, I do use Onenote for that to organize myself for meetings. If I’m going to have meetings with whether it’s my boss or my coworkers, I do take notes on that so I can look back. That’s how I need to do it. I compartmentalize and use lists, and I know that sometimes I don’t get to cross everything off that list. It’s okay, there’s another day.
Mani Pedi
Can I ask one other question? I know you are a big mani-pedi girl. I know everything is okay. It’s like, “I have my mani-pedi,” but if you haven’t had a mani-pedi several weeks, I know it’s been busy. When was your last mani-pedi? The people want to know.
Saturday. What I try to do is do that now with my daughter. Speaking about balancing things, this is what happened years ago. I felt like this tension like, “I want to go get my mani-pedi.” I have my daughter. I have a son too, as I mentioned. She was really joined and connected with me and I was torn with spending time with her and taking care of myself and getting my pedicure.
What I decided to do is take her with me so she could start getting her kids’ pedicure or manicure. That’s how I was able to spend time for myself and not compromise time with my daughter. That has been something we’ve been doing for years. I will say we’ve left salons because they didn’t treat my daughter well. If you can’t treat my child, we’re gone. In general, I still get them done. Saturday, my daughter and I went and got our nails done and it was very nice.
Listening And Encouraging
Those are amazing times. I wanted to go back to something you mentioned about listening and how important that is. That’s honestly something that I have learned with my kids as they have moved away from the house because I think part of our problem-solving nature is not only that we’re mothers, but we’re also physicians. Typically, within a 15-to-20-minute period, if you were a good physician, usually you’re known as being someone that listens, but also, before the patient leaves, you’ve got this and this for them to do so that you can help them solve their problem.
For me, it was important to learn that that’s not always to the benefit of your kid because they have to learn to solve their own problems. Being there to listen. That can go towards friends and relationships. Sometimes, it’s just more important to be there to listen and ask your opinion on how to solve the problem, but even sometimes, if they’re looking for you to solve it for them, help maybe guide them to solving it themselves. Good point that you brought up. I just wanted to highlight that.
I can piggyback. I’m still learning how to do that in my friendships because my instinct is that I want to help solve problems. “This is a problem. We can fix this together.” Whereas now, I try and say, “I’m listening or I’m hearing you,” and try and take a breath and really listen as opposed to running down the road of, “Here are the five things that you can do about this,” because both Lisa and Angela, you’re right in that people want to be heard. Part of showing up for other people is being present and listening. That was a really hard lesson for me to learn because I was just in the mode of, “We’re going to make this right and better and we’re going to move on to the next thing. Let’s just be right here and we’re going to sit with this.”
COVID-19 Pandemic
I have to add, you are the number one encourager. I think you are a very good listener, but in the midst of someone being at their down, it’s always the light that you show. That is crucial in having a good friend, somebody who can always show you the light when you are always seeing the dark. In terms of those young physicians who may be reading or those young women who think that they want to go into medicine, and I’ll just go back to COVID, what did that teach you about medicine in general? What did it teach you about our roles as physicians, not necessarily as public health officers, but the roles of physicians, all of us in this journey called medicine?
I would say that the pandemic taught me lots of different things, whether it was personally or professionally. As a physician, you sometimes have to go back to basics and learn and remember what you learned, whether it’s your chemistry and biology, in this case, for the pandemic. There’s also one thing that you may not know everything. We made mistakes and we had to acknowledge it. For example, early on, there were questions about like, “Do you wear masks?”
The pandemic proved that no one knows everything. We have made mistakes, and we have to acknowledge them. Share on XIt was like, “No, you don’t need to wear a mask. We need to preserve the mask for those in hospitals, all the healthcare workers in hospitals and acute care or in emergent situations. We can’t use masks for everyone. That’s just not the way we’re going to and it’s not the best way to control this disease.” Guess what? We were wrong. That was something that we had to pivot and acknowledge our mistake and then recover from it.
I will say that that’s been really hard to do because people remember that we were very adamant about the utility of mask and whether you needed masks or not. I remember that and that was hard. I remember even having those conversations internally within the city and people would make masks and cloth masks were the first things.
They asked me, “What do you want to do with these masks that volunteers had made? What are we going to do with them?” I said, “Save them. We’re not going to use them yet because it’s not the recommendation. I don’t know if we really think it’s going to be useful for the community.” I don’t know how many weeks later we’re like, “Yeah, do you remember those masks that you were making or the volunteers made? We need to give them out.”
I remember my daughter and I making the mask ourselves and there’s this picture of me and this mask that I made using paperclip for the nose clip. People were doing all those things and we actually used them. I think that’s one of the things I learned during the pandemic. You go back to basics. Also, there are times when you make decisions that were good for them or seem right then, but actually in the long run, weren’t the right decision. You have to pivot and then also admit that you made a mistake.
In terms of where we are as a society, it’s one of those things where it’s almost as if you’re respected more if you never admit you’re wrong. I just think it’s so important. What a great topic. That could be another segment of being respected in any area that you work in or practice in or just being a human being, as being able to say, “I have more information now and I’m sorry I was wrong.” I respect that person so much more than the person who is “strong” because they’ll never admit that they’ve made a mistake.
They have humility.
Wife And Mother
Also, we make the best decisions based on the information that we have at the time. I have gone into patient’s rooms and said, “We have more information now. We’re going to move in this direction.” Certainly, in my personal life, I have said, “I was incorrect. I need to change what I said and we’re going to move forward and I take responsibility for what has happened. Let’s try and evolve because we’re all human.” It’s tough. You are now an empty me nester, Lisa. Both of your kids are in college and graduate school. Tell me how that has been for you and your husband.
It’s a process. My son was the first one that left the nest and I thought, “This’ll be easy. He’s independent.” I spend time with him, but not the same. The family went to send him off and my daughter and husband left before I did. I stayed a day longer. I just remember saying goodbye and feeling like, “This is like heartbreak. I didn’t expect that. We’re not that connected. What am I going to do when my daughter leaves.” I was thinking that it was a little unexpected and a surprise that when he left and I left him that I was that impacted. Two years later, my daughter left and that was, I thought, “We are super connected and I’m going to spend a little bit more time transitioning her and me,” and she was ready to go.
Was she like, “Bye, mommy?”
Pretty much. There were still pandemic restrictions a little bit. She would say, “Mom, you can’t come into my dorm because of COVID restrictions. You can meet me down in the parking lot and I’ll pick up the things that you bought for my dorm.” I was like, “Okay.” That was a little hard. That was a good thing too because then, she was able to have her time.
I went to college. I went to med school and grad school so I had those experiences, whether it was in the dorm or in my apartment and having friends and making new friends and experiencing new things. I think that’s what needed to happen for her. For me, I was expecting a little more of a gradual change and that was fine. It was good that way.
Now she comes home, and when my kids come home for holidays and being able to visit them, that’s nice. I know that it’s a visit and then they go back to doing their thing, their classes and I get to learn about their classes. Sometimes, I hear a bit of the gossip of what’s going on with my daughter. My son doesn’t tell me that much, though, but I try to hear things.
For myself, it was learning about what I was going to do with my time. Some of it was spending more time building my career because that’s one thing that happened with my kids. I would say that women’s careers are impacted more, whether it’s the pregnancy or the recovery and the early childbearing. The impact is more on women, I will say, no matter how supportive your partner is. My husband was very supportive and that was important. However, it still impacts us more than it does the partner, I would say.
I was able to spend more time developing my interest. It was just outside of the pandemic. It was a matter of thinking about, because I was in public health, how the pandemic impacted the health of the community. The pandemic, I will say, made the world realize the impact of disparities on communities. Those were already occurring.
Anyway, back to the empty nesting. I was able to not only refocus on my career but also develop my own interests. Some of it was dealing with my pandemic puppy and playing with her and spending time. I have that time and also spend time taking care of myself, thinking about exercise, baking a little bit more, and making new meals. Those were some of the things that I was able to do as an empty nester. I didn’t have time to do that with the kids or had less time to do it when the kids were in the house 24/7.
I would agree with everything you just said, but I have to harp on the dog because I was feeling you when you were talking about when your son left. When my oldest daughter left, every night I would cry. No one would see me crying, but I would cry. My youngest was still at home and it just so happened when she had graduated, our dog was thirteen and had essentially, we think, wandered away and died, but basically, ran away.
Anyway, it was a horrible story, but I said, “I don’t want another dog right now. I don’t want to have to take care of anything else. I’ve got enough on my plate working on call. I don’t get rest anyway.” The youngest was in cahoots with my husband and they ended up getting Shihtzu poodle, Pierre, who is now with my youngest because it’s her dog in San Diego. He saved my life. Just in terms of taking your mind off, animals are just amazing vessels of compassion and help you a lot of times with grief. They are a lot of work. For me, anyway, I’m grateful for the animals that I’ve had in my life.
The other thing that you mentioned, because I have kids as well, I think that mom guilt is still very prevalent that we still are more reluctant as women to take on more responsibilities or higher positions in our career for our kids. I’m not advocating whether that’s right or wrong or trying to make a point about whether it’s right or wrong, but I do think that for the younger physicians coming up, I try to impress them that there are alternatives. Just make sure you have systems in place if you want to advance that will allow you to do that. Do you have any thoughts on that? What would you tell a younger Lisa that maybe already knows, “I want to have a career in public health and I’d like to do this, that and the other, but I also want a family?” Would you tell them anything different than what you’ve done?
No. I remember actually in medical school, I was on a pediatrics rotation. I can’t remember the name of the physician. I don’t know if she was department head or she was in senior leadership, but I said to her, “When is the best time to have kids?” She said, “There isn’t one.” I was like, “What? What does that mean?” “You’re going to have to figure it out what is a good time for you.”
I think having supports, going back to having supports, whether it’s with a partner or with your family, quite honestly, that helped us as a two-physician family thrive, or at least survive, sometimes thrive, but really was having family, whether it was my parents or my husband’s parents. They really helped raise the kids. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know how we would’ve done it.
I remember with both kids, I had preterm labor and complications. I remember with my daughter, when I was told, “You’re going to have to be admitted,” during my pregnancy, I didn’t call my husband first. Don’t tell him I called my in-laws and I said, “I’m going to need your help,” because I had an almost two-year-old at the time.. I knew that we weren’t going to be able to do it without them. Really calling them to help out was one of the things.
As much as you can, having a plan, having your supports available really is something that I would say, whether it’s for family or whatever you’re doing. Really having that, though, I will say during my pregnancy, especially my second, I had a plan. I actually even talked to the anesthesiologist and told them, “I’m hospitalized. I’m such and such weeks pregnant. I want to talk about my anesthesia options. If I have a C-section, I don’t want general anesthesia. Not good. I know you know that.” I had this whole plan. My daughter, I delivered in the emergency room. My husband delivered the baby. We called labor and delivery and told him to meet us down in the emergency room. He was the physician there.
Always prepare a plan and have your support systems readily available. Share on XWasn’t there a hurricane, though, Lisa?
Hurricane Isabel. That’s when I learned that only certain exits were cleared. There was a priority for public works or whoever was doing the clearing of the freeways, highways and the exits to hospitals were cleared first because of that. Thank God, because it was in the midst of Hurricane Isabel.
The point is you can have the best plan.
You could have the best plan and guess what? It may not work out that way. However, it is good to know your options. Part of the planning is having a plan A through potential C or D.
Thank you for sharing that.
You were talking a lot about community and networks, and we certainly need them professionally and personally. I’m happy that you brought that up for our readers and it is such a reminder for all of us. I know that during the pandemic, my father was sick and both of you were really helpful. Lisa, you came to support me during my dad’s transition and that definitely meant the world to me. If I hadn’t had that community, I don’t know what I would’ve done. That’s really very important and I just wanted to thank you for that.
Of course. By the way, I have a question for you. You don’t have to answer, but are you coming for Christmas? My daughter asked that. She said, “Is Sylvia coming for Christmas? I said, “I don’t know.”
I am working. Thank you, Alina. I’m working 23 to 27. We can have an offline conversation about my work schedule. Please feel free to send a note, a doctor’s note, to my leadership.
Thank you for answering and I’m sorry that it wasn’t the answer that we all wanted.
Just so you know, we’re here during Christmas, Sylvia. You’ve got a seat and a plate.
Self-Care Regimen
Okay, thank you. It works out. Lisa, we talked earlier about your mani-pedi as part of your self-care regime. Are there any other things you do for self-care?
Besides sleeping?
Sleep is important.
Sleep is very important.
You know I’m a shopper, so that’s another thing. Also, we talked a little bit earlier about exercise. I think that’s really important. I am not an exerciser. I really don’t find joy in exercising, so I have to motivate myself. Some of that is the fact that I’m looking right at my Peloton over there, which I didn’t think my husband bought it. I’m like, “That is just a waste of time,” and then I got on it. That’s something that I challenge myself and I want to make sure that I’m on a streak. That’s important to do, to be able to exercise and to sleep. Those are really important things for self-care that I try to keep to a schedule so that it actually happens. Also, just the little things like shopping. I do Nordstrom and Sylvia and we have a strong friendship.
That’s why you guys are so close.
Lisa, do you have a favorite Peloton class or instructor?
Sometimes, I like Ally Love.
I like Hannah Frankson. She’s from England. She’s based in London and she’s funny too. I like her, but I like Ally as well. I usually go between the two. My husband likes more hardcore people. I’m just not that. I like the positive and pushes you. You’re going to get a good workout, but it’s not the same as like some of the other folks that are just super-duper intense. Those are my favorite ones I would say. Now, you could watch a movie or Netflix on there as well. They’ve changed it up. If you don’t want to do a ride with your favorite instructor, you could also catch up on your favorite Netflix or YouTube show, whatever you stream on YouTube. That’s an option as well.
Is that a premium subscription or is that with the regular subscription?
I think it’s regular. You could even use your Amazon Prime and some other things, so they varied because they know. It’s a business model.
Episode Wrap-up
Lisa Burgos Hernandez, you have given our readers lots of gems to really take home. I’m thinking about using white coats to advocate for our communities, the importance of having a network, having empathy, and going back to basics when I think about listening and showing up for people. We want to thank you for sharing your journey and really being candid with our readers and with Angela and I. We wish you well and thank you very much for reading.
Yeah. I just want to thank you really for your role and those across the country in holding it down during the pandemic because, on the front lines, everybody was on the journey together, but knowing that you had the country’s and your community’s best interest at heart is I think what we all have to remember. I know your heart and I certainly know what your role was. I’m grateful that you were here. It’s so good to catch up with you.
My takeaways were the importance of listening and not always necessarily solving someone’s problems, but being the listener and practicing humility in all of our relationships. I can’t wait to stay in contact with you and appreciate all that you had to share. Is there anything that we didn’t ask that you wanted to share with our audience before we say goodbye?
Not really. I would say for the young women, especially that are reading, that you can do it. That was something that I didn’t talk about with my family. My mom showed me by example, and even though she wasn’t in the healthcare field, she would expose me to things that subtly supported that goal. She said, “You can do this.” Even when I was working with her in summer and she was working in admin in a hospital, we would sit in the cafeteria and I would hear the doctors talking and I was like, “They’re just normal people like you and me.”
I think that was really important. Knowing that we’re all human, as you mentioned, Angela, and that you can continue, don’t let, whether it’s your self-doubt or doubt from other people, dissuade you from your goal. I think that’s really important. You can do it. You might have to work a little harder or it might take you a little longer or maybe not, but you should continue on your path and your networks will support you in what you’re doing and not to give up. That’s one of the things I would say. To keep on going and not to give up.
I love ending on that.
Yes, and not to give up. Thank you, Lisa Burgos Hernandez.
Thank you so much. To our audience, until next time. Be well.
May you be well.
Important Links
- Lisa Burgos Hernandez – LinkedIn
- The Game Plan
About Lisa Burgos Hernandez
Dr. Lisa Hernandez currently serves as the Public Health Officer for Santa Cruz County, leading public health initiatives and policy development. Previously, she was the Health Officer for the City of Berkeley, where she led the pandemic response and was one of the seven San Francisco Bay Area public health officers to issue the nation’s first Stay at Home Orders.
Before her tenure in Berkeley, Lisa held multiple positions as Deputy Health Officer and Health Officer in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Monterey County Public Health Departments. Throughout her 26-year career, she has championed data-driven solutions to health disparities and unequal healthcare access.
Dr. Hernandez holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, Doctor of Medicine from Georgetown University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a mother of two children and, along with her husband and dog Casey, is enjoying life as an empty nester.