Cheryl Focht, MD

Prior to joining Neighborhood Health, Dr. Focht worked for for 18 years as a community based Pediatrician in an immigrant rich area in Washington, D.C. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Irvine and moved to the east coast to attend Hahnemann University School of Medicine (which is now merged with Drexel University) in Philadelphia, PA. After completing her Pediatric residency here in DC at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) she was chosen to be one of the first fellows in a two-year Community Health Fellowship. The fellowship involved working closely with the DC Latino community on various health issues, primarily the issue of oral health which included developing an oral health program at Mary’s Center and advocacy work with the American Academy of Pediatrics at their Federal Affairs office here in DC. Concurrently, she studied at the George Washington School of Public Health, attaining her Master's in Public Health degree. After completion of her fellowship she stayed on to teach within the GW School of Public Health about Community Oriented Primary Care. She has travelled to South Africa, Guatemala and Israel to work with public health workers in those areas and speaks Spanish fluently. Throughout her education and work as a clinic based Pediatrician Dr. Focht has been very committed to community outreach. She has taught CPR within the community, been a strong community advocate on oral health issues and the co-founder of an AAP early childhood reading program. In addition, she has enjoyed precepting undergraduate, graduate MPH, nursing, physician assistant and medical students as well as pediatric residents.