Her pastor told her that Dr. Jamsheed Vakharia, a general surgeon with Southcoast Health, now had an office just a few minutes from her North Providence home. Julie knew of Dr. Vakharia by reputation.

“Everyone speaks so highly of him,” she said.

She also had first-hand experience with his compassion and dedication when her 83-year-old mother needed surgery four years earlier. Dr. Vakharia personally responded to her inquiry with a phone call to say that – while he didn’t do the type of surgery her mother needed — he could refer her to a doctor who did. The surgery went well, Julie said, taking three hours instead of the nine hours another surgeon had estimated. And her mother didn’t need the feeding tube she’d been warned to expect.

“You can get lost in the system of paperwork and time,” she said. “But Dr. Vakharia gets lost in patients and their needs.”

In December 2023, Julie placed another call to Dr. Vakharia and made an appointment in his Fall River office. She said the entire process was marked by kindness and efficiency from that first call.

“Even the people on the phone were wonderful,” she said.

Within 48 hours, her surgery was scheduled as promised. This surprised her because she had been waiting weeks to get a surgery date from the hospital in another system where she’d had surgery six months before.

Julie underwent the hernia repair on January 9, 2024, at Charlton Memorial Hospital. An educator for 40 years, she was grateful that the scheduling department could find a date that worked for her.

“From pre-surgery to walking into the hospital, everyone was so nice and friendly,” she said. “Even the volunteer who walks you down the corridor was great. And the nurses were spectacular.”

She singled out Dr. Mohammed Chaudary, anesthesiologist, as well as Pamela Neto, RN, who helped prepare her for the operation; Christopher Athaide, RN, who works in the operating room; Joshua Raffa, CRNA, a nurse anesthetist, and Christine Rapoza, ASU, RN, a Phase II Recovery/Discharge nurse.

She reserves special praise for Dr. Vakharia, whose visits with her were always thorough and reassuring. Suffering no pain during recovery, Julie was back to work in two weeks, and she said the scars from the procedure are minimal. Dr. Vakharia’s staff went out of their way to ensure that her post-op visits were as convenient as possible, scheduling them all in the Rhode Island office near her home.

“He has such compassion and empathy, and he sets the tone for everyone he works with,” she said. “He treats every patient as if they are a blood relative.”

“He’s brilliant, but more importantly, he has compassion for people and takes time to hear their story. I’m so grateful that I was in Dr. Vakharia’s hands and everyone around him. Every single player got an A+ for the role they played.”

For more patient profiles, visit Patient Profiles Archives | Southcoast Health. To learn more about specialties and services offered at Southcoast Health, visit Medical Services in MA & RI | Southcoast Health Services.