Dr. Usama Moustafa was born and raised in Egypt, and has called the tight-knit community of La Porte home for most of his adult life. He came to the U.S. in his early twenties to pursue a career in pediatrics. Now, he is a pediatrician in La Porte, Indiana and is affiliated with La Porte Hospital and La Porte Physician Network, and chairman of the pediatrics department at the hospital. He has been in practice for more than 20 years and couldn’t imagine himself in a profession more rewarding.
“I want to help children, and help them become healthy adults,” said Moustafa. “Sometimes the kids are happy to see me and that's what makes this job rewarding to do.”
Moustafa knew this was the field he was meant to pursue during medical rotations.
“I like making children feel comfortable, which is why I chose pediatrics. It can be challenging when babies cannot express what hurts. It can be a challenging for the diagnosis. You have to come up with a diagnosis for their pain,” said Moustafa.
Moustafa wants to always be available for patients since sickness strikes at any given time. He encourages parents to reach out to him even when he is off the clock.
“I know my patients very well. I give them an access to myself all the time. I make myself available always, even when I am off, or on the weekends. I want my patients to be healthy. It’s important to me to help them and that’s why I love what I do,” said Moustafa.
Moustafa is happy to pursue a career he loves in a community he loves. After working in La Porte for most of his professional career, he says he enjoys the tight-knit community.
“It’s a small community where everyone gets to know each other. It’s nice to have those friendly relationships, and I have that as well with patients,” said Moustafa. “It’s not just a doctor-patient relationship. It’s more of a friendship and I like that connection among people. I appreciate that I can connect with people like that, and it allows me to be more than a physician to my community.”
Dr. Moustafa’s office also has that connection with the La Porte community. They not only provide help for children, but they give back as well.
“We have a car seat program that helps those who cannot afford a car seat, and our pediatric office is a permanent car seat fitting station. That program is made possible with funderal funding from Indiana’s Automoative Safety Program, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, and the Healthcare Foundation of La PorteI like to give back in ways that are related to what I practice,” said Moustafa.
Children inspire Dr. Moustafa. His patients are what drive him to continuously help others.“If you take good care of children, they grow to be healthy. It inspires me to help them grow physically, mentally and emotionally. I want to be a help in having those kids grow up to be healthy and active adults,” said Moustafa.