Dr. Gail Ferguson, long-time pediatrician at Neighborhood Health Center, is finding career growth - right in the Neighborhood!

Dr. Ferguson has taken on the joint role of Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer (CMO). In this new role, she is part of Neighborhood’s strategic leadership team focused on continually improving patient care. Dr. Ferguson is leading and developing a team of providers who are strong in their medical knowledge and compassionate in their care of all patients.

Dr. Ferguson was born and raised here in Buffalo. Her parents were both children of immigrants who came to this country in the early 20th century as children, escaping the pogroms of Eastern Europe. Growing up, she was proficient in playing the flute and piano and thought music would be her career path. At the same time, as the grandchild of two physicians, she grew up witnessing the impact that quality care can have. Her grandfather, Harry, worked as a solo practitioner on the east side of Buffalo where he stayed every night until all the patients who arrived were seen, regardless of if or how he was paid.

“I remember how people spoke so highly of my grandfather and that may have piqued my interest in medicine,” Dr. Ferguson says. “He was mission-minded before that was even a phrase and his family practice was part of the community for nearly 30 years.”

So, when it came time to choose between a musical future or a career in the sciences, she decided medicine was the way to go. After graduating from Brandeis University in Massachusetts as a biology major, Dr. Ferguson went on to earn her medical degree from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine. It was during a pediatric rotation that Dr. Ferguson discovered her passion for caring for kids. 

“I knew instantly when I walked onto the oncology floor at Children’s Hospital that I had found my home. The children were resilient, forgiving, and loving,” said Dr. Ferguson.

After her residency she came to work at Neighborhood as a pediatric specialist. Very soon, she learned what a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) is and the impact it can have on a patient, a family, and a community. 

In continuing her career at Neighborhood, she eventually took on the responsibility of department chair for pediatrics, and later medical director for internal and family medicine. Dr. Ferguson says her long career at Neighborhood has uniquely enabled her to watch her pediatric patients grow into adulthood. 

“So when the opportunity presented itself to become the vice president of clinical services and CMO of this organization I love, I had to consider it,” explained Dr. Ferguson. “It would mean less time in the exam room with my patients, but it would also mean having a position within the organization that would allow me to positively affect the care received by all patients in all the exam rooms and to positively affect the success of all of our providers.”