Staff
Christina Gembala, MA
Medical Assistant
Christina completed the Medical Assistant program at Sanford Brown. She completed her externship at The Vu Center in August of 2012 and was asked to join on as a permanent team member. Christina has a natural way with patients setting them at ease as soon they walk through the door at The Vu Center.
Kelly McDowell, MBA
Director of Operations
Kelly.mcdowell@thevucenter.com
Kelly joined The Vu Center in July of 2012. Having spent the last 7 years as a Clinical Analyst at Tuality Healthcare in addition to the prior 15 years directing operations at N.C.O. Financial and Cymetrix Inc., Kelly brings extensive operational experience to The Vu Center.
Dr. Kim-Chi Vu
Vuki_plastics@yahoo.com
One of only a handful of female plastic surgeons in Portland, Dr. Kim-Chi Vu attended the University of Portland as an undergraduate and graduated from medical school at the Oregon Health Sciences University, where she also completed her surgical residency.
Dr. Vu, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, specializes in not only cosmetic and reconstructive surgery , but also in hand trauma surgeries.
Dr. Vu’s exceptional knowledge of her field comes from her plastic surgery experiences and from continuing education by attending local as well as national meetings/seminars/symposiums in the field of plastic surgery year around. In addition, she has a background in hand trauma, which is a valuable complement to her plastics work. While very different in some respects from carefully choreographed cosmetic procedures, emergency surgeries she performs on hand trauma patients keep her surgical skills at the highest level. “My work in cosmetics and trauma complement one another,” Dr. Vu acknowledges. “Trauma keeps me attuned to the minute level of detail that will restore function to an injured hand, while cosmetic work requires an aesthetic, almost artistic, appreciation of how the body works.”
