Dr. Michael Rocha named New Bedford's Prince Henry Society Person of the Year. Here's why
NEW BEDFORD - You could say Dr. Michael Rocha’s connection to the New Bedford Chapter of the Prince Henry Society of Massachusetts is about to come full circle.
A PHS scholarship recipient decades ago, the Hawthorn Medical Associates cardiologist will be receiving the organization’s 2023 Person of the Year award next month.
According to the PHS, Dr. Rocha is being recognized “for quite literally walking the walk,” as he is actively working to improve the health of residents in the New Bedford area and leads a monthly Wellness Walk at Buttonwood Park.
“Dr. Rocha has been nominated and received the award for his dedication to the health and well-being of New Bedford, the city where he was born and raised,” reads a PHS press release. “Dr. Rocha has established himself as a major force in volunteering and community leadership.”
The award will be presented during the organization’s annual Installation Banquet on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Century House in Acushnet.
Dr. Rocha, a Dartmouth resident, told O Jornal he feels very humbled by this recognition.
“I really am grateful for all the people I work with. This is not just one person,” he said. “This is really all the people that I’m dealing with either in the office, in medicine, the Wellness Program, at the Boys and Girls Club… all the things I participate in. Nothing happens unless you have a team and people around you. So, I really am appreciative to be recognized, but I really think that it comes down to everybody I have the opportunity to work with.”
Dr. Rocha has his heart set on disease prevention
A 1993 graduate of New Bedford High School and the great-grandson of an immigrant from São Miguel, Azores, Dr. Rocha earned his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from UMass Dartmouth and his medical degree from the Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. He completed his residency and fellowships in cardiology and in heart failure and cardiac transplantation at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Rocha has his heart set on raising health awareness and enhancing preventive care.
In 2014, he founded the New Bedford Wellness Initiative to focus on prevention of disease through lifestyle interventions.
“Many of the diseases we’re dealing with in the office could be prevented, if we put more effort into public health and awareness,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are several things in our community that if we could make some small changes, they would make a huge difference.”
In 2014, Dr. Rocha recruited several physicians to participate in a weekly Walk with a Doc, which remains a year-round event that welcomes walkers of all ages.
A year later, the Sunday Wellness Program was added to offer free classes in nutrition, exercise, yoga, meditation, stress reduction, and smoking cessation addressing many of the major drivers of chronic diseases.
During the pandemic, the wellness program transitioned to offering online classes and the added focus of COVID-19 education and resources.
“The message of the Wellness program is to encourage folks to really realize that a lot of the things they may be struggling with could be either prevented or could be better controlled, if they work on the lifestyle issues that are contributing to them,” Dr. Rocha said.
The messages of the Wellness Initiative have caught on because it now has about 5,400 followers on Facebook.
These individuals can find inspiration and motivation by Dr. Rocha’s own example as he really walks the talk. A few years ago, he lost 80 pounds, by reducing portion sizes, cutting back on sugars and refining grains, and exercising.
A champion for wellness, locally and beyond
Dr. Rocha has not only been a champion for wellness locally, but also at the state and national level.
He has been involved in various organizations, including being co-chair of the New Bedford Opioid Task Force, the Physicians to Prevent Opioid Addiction (PPOA) and the COVID-19 Action Coalition in Massachusetts.
Since 2013, he has served on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Bedford, an institution that he benefited from as a youth in New Bedford.
In 2015, he presented a TEDx talk entitled “How to Keep Your Heart From Killing You.”
He has been the recipient of several honors and awards.
In 2015, he was recognized by the Southcoast Media group as the New Bedford Man of the Year.
In 2017, he was the Robert Chadwick Community Service recipient, and he was presented the Myra Kraft Community MVP Award in 2020.
Music fills Dr. Rocha’s heart
Music has played a big role in Dr. Rocha’s life.
He began learning to play the trombone in the 4th grade through the New Bedford Public Schools system and studied privately with John Martin.
His musical beginnings include performing with Eddie Rodrigues’ Meadowlarks and the Portuguese American Band.
He continues to perform locally with the Southcoast Jazz Orchestra, Southcoast Brass Band, Buttonwood Brass, Dartmouth Town Band, and Mattapoisett Town Band.
For Dr. Rocha, being a musician makes him a better doctor and being a doctor helps him be a better musician.
“When I went to medical school, they said: ‘You’re probably not going to have time to play,’” he recalled. “But it’s part of who I am, and I think that music is a very spiritual and emotional opportunity. In some ways, it’s also therapy for you to try balance life. The ability to express yourself in any way, whether it’s art or music, is very important. I think that it helps to balance me in the work that I do during the day.”
How to buy tickets for the PHS Installation Banquet?
The PHS Installation Banquet will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour. Dinner will be served at 8 p.m.
Tickets cost $100. Those interested in attending may contact Michael Gomes for tickets at 508-989-7438 or mgnbfd@comcast.net.
Dr. Rocha said he is grateful to his family, friends, and the Greater New Bedford community for all the support over the years and is deeply honored to be receiving this award.
“I’m just grateful to be back here, in the community I grew up in,” he said. “It really means a lot to me to be able to practice somewhere where it means more than just medicine. It’s really the community… I wouldn’t want to be any place else.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Dr. Michael Rocha named New Bedford's PHS 2023 Person of the Year
