Westmont Magazine Keeping Medicine All in the Family

Dr. Rob Hughes ’04 worked in the Westmont Health Center as a student and aspired to return one day and direct it. A fourth- generation doctor, he knew at a young age he’d pursue medicine. “It’s in my genes,” he says. Dr. David Hernandez, the college’s physician, served as a role model for Rob, a premed student who majored in chemistry. “I was inspired by his Introduction to Medicine course, and I witnessed firsthand his demeanor and love for his student patients,” Rob says. “He taught me that if you spend enough time with patients, they’ll lead you to the diagnosis.”

Hernandez retired in spring 2021, and Rob stepped into his position as director of health services. “I appreciate the care that my student colleagues and I received,” Hughes says. “I’m pleased to serve the students today, supporting them to their best health.”

Rob met his wife, Dr. Kristen Kleen Hughes ’04, on their first day at Westmont. She chose the college because she could play soccer while preparing for medical school. “My professors worked with me and accommodated my soccer schedule,” she says. “I got an athletic scholarship, played on teams that won three national championships with Coach Mike Guiliano and graduated a semester early.” She majored in biology.

“Rob and I had a lot in common,” Kristen says. “He tutored me in chemistry, and I tutored him in calculus. He brought me dinner after late soccer practices. We supported each other through organic chemistry and made a good team. Then we went from being best friends to something more coming back from Potter’s Clay one year.”

After careful planning, Rob finished early as well. He and Kristen got married the weekend they graduated with both their families in town for Commencement. Ben Patterson, then campus pastor, performed the ceremony and continues to mentor them.

Rob and Kristen earned their medical degrees at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He then served as an intern/resident at Kaiser Permanente Fontana Family Medicine Residency, where he had a fellowship in sports medicine.

Kristen stayed at Loma Linda for a residency in pediatrics. She’d applied for dermatology but didn’t get one of the few openings available. She settled for her back-up plan so she and Rob could stay in the same general area. “I’m so grateful that I get to work with children every day,” Kristen says. “God knew what was best for me.”

“Medical school and residencies really challenged us, and we wanted to come back to Santa Barbara,” Rob says. “God made it happen.”

Kristen accepted a position at Cottage Hospital as a pediatric hospitalist, and Rob worked a hectic schedule at Sansum Urgent Care. He started accepting per diem shifts at UC Santa Barbara and developed relationships with the athletic department and student health services. He spent six years as a staff physician and intercollegiate athletics medical director for UCSB’s Student Health Service.

After their first child arrived, Kristen joined a physician group but soon realized she needed a part-time position. She now works for Santa Barbara County part time at Franklin Health Center and also in Carpinteria. “It’s a hard but rewarding job that helps me understand the struggles of a lot of families,” she says. They have two children: Bo, 8, and Summer, 5.

While Rob and Kristen practiced some telehealth, they both kept seeing patients in person during the pandemic, knowing they could get COVID-19 at any time. But they stayed healthy and got vaccinated as soon as possible. “You take some risks when you work with sick people, but that’s part of the job,” Kristen says.

At the health center, Rob plans for the next pandemic — or the next wave of COVID-19. He’s also updating the technology and switching to digital medical records. He appreciates working with Jason Tavarez, director of institutional resilience, on issues such as testing and vaccinating people at Westmont. “It’s hard to respond to an unpredictable and constantly changing situation,” Rob says.

“All we’ve thought about for two years is COVID-19,” Kristen says. “My challenge is weighing the risks and benefits of various COVID-related strategies.” She’s been doing a remote fellowship with UC San Francisco on pediatric obesity. “Even before COVID, I had a passion for helping kids maintain a healthy weight. Staying home and staying safe protects children from COVID but not from obesity. Letting them use tablets all day increases their body mass index (BMI), leading to diabetes, hypertension and other serious conditions. Through the fellowship, I’m learning how to communicate with public officials to increase awareness about obesity, the No. 1 chronic condition in pediatrics. We need to discourage sugar-sweetened beverages and cereal and increase exercise and healthy food for kids.”