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Last Updated 11/29/06

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Compton Doc Recognized for Medical Service to Compton Community
Dr. Toni Chavis puts her education to good use while staying close to home

By Cheryl Scott
Bulletin Staff Writer

Pediatrician Toni Chavis knew what she wanted to do at the age of 5, and she has followed through on her dream by practicing in the city where she was raised.

“My parents took me to see a husband-and-wife team of pediatricians who practiced in Compton so I could learn more about the profession,” said Chavis. “What I learned from them only increased my ambition to be a pediatrician, and I’ve never changed my mind about that.”

Chavis was recently honored by the city of Compton at a Quarterly Business2 Business Breakfast Roundtable for providing medical services to the community for the last 25 years. Through her practice she not only serves the children in the city, but conducts a robust outreach program along with the other four pediatricians in her office.

“It’s very interesting,” she said. “Most people think of Compton as an underserved community, and to a certain extent that’s true. But there are a substantial number of people in the city who can afford medical services. We serve both segments.”

Chavis believes that one of the biggest needs in Compton is mental health facilities for children. “There’s only one clinic specializing in mental health and there is a waiting list. Very few private physicians will accept Medi-Cal for mental health services.”

She also sees a lack of pediatric nutritional services. “The city needs more resources for nutritional education,” she said. “We do a lot of our community service work in obesity programs and Health Net. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, and that is solely a factor of poor nutrition.”

Like many in the medical field, Chavis has noticed a drastic increase in autism and attention deficit disorder in recent years. “We need occupational therapy for these patients,” she said. “High-functioning autistic children particularly would benefit from occupational programs designed especially for them.”

She sees a need for more after-school enrichment programs and would especially like to see these programs develop a nutritional element. “That would be my lifelong dream,” she said. “An after-school program that would include enrichment activities and exercise with nutritional education and a mental health program.”

While she says there is no proven relationship between nutrition and autism or ADD, numerous conditions exist that are directly related to poor eating habits. “You can’t isolate any of these needs,” she said. “They are all interrelated and they should all be addressed in our medical services.”

The two diseases most frequently treated by Chavis and her associates are asthma and obesity, both of which have risen dramatically in the last 10 years. “It would be difficult to ignore increasing air pollution and poor nutrition when considering the causes of this increase,” she said. “It’s a very serious matter, and we need to work hard to solve the problems that have a drastic and visible detrimental effect on our children.”

Chavis employs four pediatricians and three physician assistants in her practice, which she started in 1981. After graduating from Compton High School, she attended Stanford University, earning a bachelor’s degree in three years. She received a master’s degree in public health from UCLA in 1973.

“I came back to the community and interned at County USC Medical Center, where I also did my residency,” she said. “I received my medical degree in 1980 and did a fellowship for the next year. Right after that I opened my practice.”

While she appreciates the recognition she recently received from the city, Chavis is quick to point out that her associates are equally involved in public outreach to serve medical needs of children in the community. She introduced them at the breakfast when she received the award.

Drs. Deborah Jefferson-Woods, Navelle Jones, Krystal Niely and Andriette Ward are the physicians who practice with Chavis. Marjorie Skinner-Riley, Steven Scott and Brandi Sharp are the physician assistants.

“They are very important to my practice and our patients,” Chavis said. “I feel this award is for them as well as for me.”

She has a practical reason for her appreciation of the media attention that has come with the city’s recognition. “Maybe we will attract the attention of someone like Tiger Woods, who has recently established a school in Anaheim. We would love to have the support of someone with the means to help us to fill the pediatric medical needs in Compton.”