Every weekend during Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’ll be lifting up the voices of our local AAPI community. Tonight, we begin with Dr. Benjamin Ha, who is a successful family physician in our community. and you're going to want to 'stay tuned' to hear about his fun hobby.
According to Kaiser Permanente Family Physician Dr. Benjamin Ha’s wife, Nina said you can really tell when a doctor is a good doctor, when they truly listen to you. It’s something she noticed about her husband when they first started dating, and something she hears about him from people all the time.
“I may be a little biased, but I just feel so incredibly blessed that God has given me a husband who truly has a heart to help others,” Mrs. Ha said. “I just think for me and the kids, he’s a real life superhero.”
Dr. ha, has been family physician at Kaiser Permanente in Bakersfield, since 2003. He’s even been recognized as Kern County’s Family Medicine Physician of the Year for Kaiser Permanente, most recently in 2020.
“I think a lot of people are in positions in society to serve,” Dr. Ha said. “Being a physician, what I'm allowed to do in helping people, is really special.”
He’s a hero to his family, and sometimes wears a cape too. When not at his practice, dr. ha can be found from time-to-time starring in parodies of music hits with his wife and kids that promote a plant-based diet. One of Superha’s videos, "Baby Got Kale," as 23ABC previously reported, went mini-viral. Another, “Super Veggies,” featured a cameo from J.J. Fad, and then, there’s ‘Oh Baby Kale,’ which Dr. Ha wrote himself.
Before Dr. Ha became a part-time music video sensation and full-time family physician in Bakersfield, he had his own hero to look up to.
“My parents immigrated here to the U.S. in ‘71. He finished medical school in Taiwan and came to Yonkers, NY to do his training. That’s where I was born,” Dr. Ha said. “I grew up in a very small town in North Carolina and my dad was one of the family physicians in town, so my whole life I would see him care for caring for the community.”
Dr. Ha said it led him to wanting to be a physician himself. Here’s his advice for anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps:
“Do your best to live a values driven life, so really identify what your values are, if that’s kindness if that’s service, if that’s service, figure out what drives you,” Dr. Ha said.
Tune in every weekend on 23ABC during Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, as we’ll be lifting up the voices of our local AAPI community. And if you know someone who should be highlighted next in our community, you can email 23ABC’s Kristin Vartan at kristin.vartan@kero.com.
