As Chief of Cardiology at Harlem Hospital Center and the chair of the Community Programs for the Association of Black Cardiologists, Dr. Fergus talks about her commitment to the health of Harlem.

Q: You are an advocate for some of the people with the least access to health care who have a hard time being healthy here in Harlem because of things like poverty and lack of health insurance-how did you make the choice to work with some of the neediest people in New York City?

A: After medical school, I started doing my fellowship at New York-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I was mostly serving a very elite, well-to-do group of people and there were people coming down from Harlem who seemed lost in this setting. Around the same time, Dr. Stephen Scheidt, a highly respected cardiologist, the fellowship director at Weill Cornell Medical Center, and my mentor, told me about the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC). I learned that the members of this organization, like me, were interested in providing care for people in less well-off communities that have worse health care options and health outcomes.

Q: Was there anything besides ABC that led you to work with patients from needier backgrounds?

A: Yes, while I was working at New York Hospital of Queens in Flushing, I was elected to the Speaker's Bureau. This position got me involved in programs related to heart disease in women. Since I was the only female and only minority cardiologist and because I spoke several languages, I was able to develop a strong connection with the patients in the diverse community surrounding that hospital.

Harlem Word is a series of interviews with Harlem health experts, written by HHPC and reviewed by our Health Advisory Board.

Read more from Dr. Fergus by clicking the links below:

• Heart disease in Harlem
• Women becoming cardiologists
• Community Service
• Her path to Harlem Hospital
• Harlem's Latino Community