Richard Bland, MD

Bio

Although I was born in Dallas, I can't say that I remember much about the place. Even though I was three when we left, I recall that it was very hot and that I was not too disappointed to be leaving the humidity behind.

Leaving Texas, my family settled in Los Angeles. Despite several outside attractions, it was never easy for me to leave LA. My family and I lived in a variety of locations there: La Habra, Whittier (remember Dick Nixon?), Torrance and Hermosa Beach. I consider my formative years as those spent on the beach in Hermosa and Redondo Beach.

I didn't travel far to attend the University of California, Los Angeles. Four years there brought me a degree in Biology with a minor in mathematics. For the next two years I attended graduate school in the department of Biomathematics at UCLA while working in aerospace. Medicine however became my goal. Once again, UCLA was my home while I attended medical school.

I spent the next year as a Surgery Intern at the University of California, San Diego. The following year was a Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Harbor/UCLA Medical Center, and once again I was close to the beaches of Los Angeles. The following 5 years were spent in a General Surgery Residency at the same hospital. Following this was a year of fellowship in Trauma and Critical Care Medicine in Long Beach (very near the beach!). The last year of formal training was spent in Portland, Oregon for yet another fellowship in Trauma.

I originally came to Santa Rosa expecting to fill a need for a trauma surgeon at what was then Community Hospital. What was to be a 6 week contract was ultimately extended to 2 years. Thereafter, I had a private practice centered in Sebastopol. Kaiser Permanente had an opening for a Surgeon in 1996 and I was fortunate enough to secure that position.

As a Kaiser Permanente surgeon, my skills and procedures have continued to evolve and adapt to change. New procedures in breast cancer and laparoscopy have required a commitment to continuous learning and education.

My Medical Specialty

Interests

Currently reading:
Neuromancer and Count Zero by William Gibson

My favorite book or author:
J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy

Great movie:
Lord of the Rings, Gattaca

Hobby Photos & Links:

Family Hobbies

Family & Friends

People in my life:

My wife and I met on a psychiatric ward of a Veteran's Hospital in Los Angeles. There is no truth to the rumor that either of us were patients there. In truth, she was an Occupational Therapy Intern about to complete her BA from Colorado State. I was there as a 4th year medical student.

Teresa finished her bachelors in OT (Occupational Therapy). But while in Santa Rosa, she found her true niche in hand rehabilitation. She worked, studied and was ultimately certified as a Hand Therapist. For a while, she managed a large rehabilitation clinic in Santa Rosa. At that time, this clinic was the only Northern California clinic certified in the care of hand and arm replants north of San Francisco.

My children and people I care about:

We have four children but a recent happy event has added a 5th "child": Travis is 22 and just married to Quincy who is 21. Both are in college and studying at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Kristi is 19 and a freshman at the University of California San Diego. Erika is 17 and a senior at Analy HS in Sebastopol. Marissa is 14 and a freshman also at Analy HS. The two oldest (Travis and Kristi) were born in Torrance, California. The two younger children can claim to be native Santa Rose-ans, both born in the labor and delivery department of the "other" Santa Rosa hospital.

We are truly a soccer family. Each of the children has played seriously at all age levels. Most have also been referees. Teresa has been active in the West Sonoma County soccer league for years. I am noticeably absent in this regard except that I attend and observe a good many of the games.

Photos of my Family & Friends:

.

My wife, Teresa

Marissa

Erika

Kristina

Travis

My Family

Teresa and myself

Like Mother Like Daughter

At this time, we have 2 dogs and 5 cats. We have had in the past birds, rats, mice, fish and even tad poles.

Our usual excuse for getting a new pet is a holiday, and pets are always given a name appropriate for the holiday! Thus, our dogs names are Noel (Christmas) and Coal (Christmas). The cats are Spooky (Halloween), Tiny Tim (Christmas), Escuela (first day of school - not REALLY a holiday), Pinta (Columbus Day) and Salem (Halloween).

Pet Photos:

Coal

Mr. Lincoln, Noel and Coal

Tiny Tim

Escuela

Pinta

Travel

One of my recent trips:

Did you know that the largest LIVE coral reef in the world is off the coast of Central America? Although still far away, this is much closer than the Australian Great Barrier Reef. And although I am no expert on the matter, the locals claim that Honduras even has better diving!

In June, we as a family vacationed in a beach house on an island off the coast of Honduras. Initially, this was billed as an out-of-the-way spot where we would do little and eat a lot. We happened to meet the owner of a local scuba dive resort. During a conversation, he invited us to a "Discovery Dive".

Never having scuba dove before, I had no expectations of learning this sport. The Discovery Dive was a very brief education followed by a shallow dive heavily supervised. We were amazed and astounded by the world we had never seen. Even though we only descended to 20 feet, it was an adventure through an alien world. We were captivated by the color of life and the surreal coral shapes. And three dimension independence is itself an unforgettable experience.

Each and everyone of us left with the plan to somehow repeat the adventure and hopefully expand it to greater depths.

Trip Photos:

A Family Dive in Honduras

Miles of Beaches

Fauna of Honduras