WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV is proud to elevate Hispanic voices in our community to celebrate their accomplishments during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Meet Dr. Yoel Vivas, a local doctor using his roots to better take care of his patients in a highly-specialized field. He is a cardiac electrophysiologist, which means he mostly cares for people with electric issues in their heart like arrhythmia.
He's originally from Venezuela and moved to the United States in the early 2000s to specialize in his care.
He studied at various universities to learn everything that he currently knows. He has one skill he didn't have to go to get a degree for. He's able to speak to his Hispanic patients and their families in their native tongue, Spanish.
Vivas currently works in Palm Beach County where nearly one in every four people are Hispanic or Latino, according to the latest census data.
That data also shows nearly 20% of people living in the county speak Spanish at home.
After coming to the U.S. to continue his education, he's focusing on making medical learning a global experience.
"I really do believe we have the best medicine here in the United States. I still believe there are things we can learn from everywhere," he told WPTV reporter Victor Jorges. "The art of medicine, you need to make sure your patient is at ease and have confidence in the doctor. A lot of my patients, they actually want me to talk to them in Spanish."
