Toni L. Hero, DO

Growing up watching her mom, a nurse at Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital, Dr. Hero knew that she wanted to work in health care, too. “My mom was loving and compassionate, and family and friends always looked up to her and valued her care,” she says. “I wanted to be like her.” As a board-certified family physician today, Dr. Hero models her care philosophy on the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

In her practice, says Dr. Hero, “I’m a huge proponent of preventive medicine and working closely with my patients to keep them as physically and emotionally healthy as possible.” She values a team approach to care, as well as education. “I never want to be the doctor who says, ‘Just take this pill and you’ll feel better.’ My job is to educate patients to help them make the best decisions for their individual needs.”

Dr. Hero enjoys chatting with patients about what’s going on in their lives – it’s those relationships that she enjoys most about her work. “I’m lucky to have been in practice long enough to see a newborn I took care of years ago now have children of her own,” she says. “It’s heart-warming and a privilege to be part of my patients’ lives – both to celebrate their successes and to guide them in difficult times.”

A graduate of Chapman University in Orange, Calif., Dr. Hero earned her medical degree at Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Iowa. She completed her family practice internship and residency in Portland at Eastmoreland General Hospital.

A self-described foodie, Dr. Hero loves to cook and is currently “working through a kitchen appliance addiction.” She also enjoys traveling, especially to sunny tropical locations, and spending time with her husband and adult stepson.