Covering four states in eight years would be enough for most, but Kafele wasn’t done traveling just yet. After high school, he chose to move back to Iowa and attend Grinnell College, a small (approximately 1,200 student) private university. His time here afforded him the ability to follow in his father’s footsteps as a collegiate football player, and also helped him find a path to his eventual career in medicine. He made a jump back to Ohio after college for medical school and also earned a master’s degree in business while there. When it came time to choose a residency, he opted for internal medicine at Ochsner Hospital in New Orleans; two months later, he came face-to-face with Hurricane Katrina. As one of the most devastating disasters our nation has ever seen, Hurricane Katrina put Dr. Hodari in a situation that few doctors come into contact with. Hospitals are busy enough places to begin with, but in the midst of devastation at this magnitude, the overcrowding turned New Orleans’ hospitals into utter chaos. A trial by fire in the truest sense, Dr. Hodari was caring for some forty patients each day during the storm and its aftermath. He completed a threeyear residency in internal medicine at Ochsner Hospital, while contributing to the rebuilding of New Orleans, then completed an additional three-year residency in dermatology at Tulare University Medical Center.
(above left) Dr. Hodari consults with a patient. (above right) A quick botox injection to reduce lines. second interview decided it was time to make his final move to Chico. Dr. Hodari began his practice as a board certified dermatologist at North Valley Dermatology in August 2011 and has progressively built his list of services since. From the general care of acne and skin aberrations to cosmetic offerings like chemical peels, botox, and fillers, it has been Dr. Hodari’s mission to provide the perfect marriage of art and science to enhance beauty.
After all of the moves and surviving a major natural disaster, Dr. Hodari decided it was finally time to return home. Having lived both in small college towns and large metropolitan areas during his journey, he sought a city Perhaps most important, the pracwhich would provide the best tice has focused heavily of both of those worlds. He on skin cancer as began his search for it is one of the the perfect town and more rampant was introduced by diseases a mutual colout there. devell il w league to Dr. s One-in-five n a c ameri eir th f o Donald Richey Amerie One in five rs u o w cer in the c at North Valley e cans will n n a c re in o k m s op re are e th Dermatology r devela e y f so ch lifetime. Ea ancer than new case d in Chico. They op skin in c ng an lu , had an instant cancer te ta s cases of sk ro st, p a re b % e connection. 0 over the 9 th f cancers o roximately p p A . He visited with course d e in re b ncers a colon com his wife, a gifted of their ma skin ca o n la e ia m d n o ra n runner who lifetime, ll to a of sure with expo unsurprisingly fell and ssociated a e sun. in love with Bidwell though tion from th Park, and after his this disease
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could prove to be fatal, early detection increases patient survival rates to 98%. To fight this disease, Dr. Hodari has been offering free skin cancer screenings since March to anyone in the greater Chico area on the first Friday of the month. The program has already been hugely successful, and led to the surgical removal of an early onset melanoma detected on the very first day of screening. Fortunately, the lesion was caught early and was prevented from spreading. Screenings are offered between 12:30pm and 4:30pm, and though the visit is free, appointments are still required. As May is skin cancer awareness month, there is no better time than right now to set up an appointment and ensure that your skin is functioning at its very best. As the largest organ in our bodies, it is our first line of defense against outside pathogens and should be properly protected and fortified at all times. Call Dr. Hodari’s office at (530) 894-6832 to set up an appointment today. Office hours are 8:00am5:00pm Monday, Thursday, and Friday with special hours of 7:30am-4:30pm on Tuesday and 9:00am-6:00pm on Wednesday, allowing great flexibility for those with standard nine-to-five work schedules.
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