Victoria Ashton, MD
Associate Medical Director
New England Rehab Hospital

She loves opera and Blossom Dearie. One of her favorite books is “The Complete Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, and she’s addicted to the “New Yorker”. She’s been to Iceland three times, France, Venice and Tuscany. She grew up hearing stories of the Armenian holocaust. A sense of humor and a little bit of feminist mischief are inherent traits, shaping her future. She makes the best chocolate cake in the world and she’s mother to Nate, her guitar playing son. Diversity is what makes Dr. Victoria Ashton so admirable.

Her Armenian dad was born in Turkey, but orphaned at age 8. His family died during the turbulent times of the Armenian genocide during World War I. He came to Ellis Island to be raised by relatives who were living in the Chelsea, MA area. Dr. Ashton said, “My father never graduated from high school, but he had lots of energy and personality and worked as a salesman, traveling all over the US. He ended up in Wisconsin where he met my mom in a public speaking class. She was German/Russian and in 1937, an Armenian marrying a German/Russian would be almost unheard of in their home countries.” But the marriage succeeded and two daughters and a son completed the household.

At age 15, Vicki and her family moved to California because her Dad took a position with an Armenian Charitable organization. For the next several years, Vicki would experience the West Coast in all its splendor. And, it is at this point we can interject a little fun.

Q: What are three things that you don’t know about Dr. Ashton?

A: She took belly dancing lessons in San Francisco. She attended a party at Rock Hudson’s house (was he there?). She was the first female ride operator at the Santa Cruz Beach Amusement Park.

Growing up in California can be pretty extraordinary, especially when you have an older sister showing you the ropes.

Ready for some serious education, Vicki attended the University of California at Santa Cruz and received a BA in Psychobiology. She spent her junior year abroad at the American University of Beirut. “Beirut was really an interesting experience,” said Dr. Ashton. “While I could be a practicing feminist here in the US, I discovered that in Beirut you are a female, period. I lived in a female dorm and my friends wouldn’t even engage in feminist conversation. They just didn’t care to.” Certainly a very different environment from that of a California college student in the early 70’s.

Studying psychobiology, which is applying the principles of biology to the study of mental processes and behavior, was a new field and major available at UCSC. “I became totally hooked on the subject and loved the field of research,” said Dr. Ashton. She did post graduate research in cerebral asymmetry also at UCSC, and epilepsy at Langley Porter Institute at UC San Francisco. She became very engrossed in her work, having no plans, at that point in time, of becoming a physician.

Imminent factors altered her focus. Having a boyfriend, who happened to be a medical student, was one. “We talked a lot about his experiences and I often helped him study. And I really thought it was interesting,” she said. At the same time, Vicki was involved in a medical project at a large company and exposed to the clinical experience. Thirdly, another friend was applying to medical school and trying to convince her to apply with her. So she did.

Victoria Ashton became Dr. Ashton when she received her M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School. She completed her residency training at Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Internal Medicine. Dr. Ashton chose Internal Medicine for her residency training as she was participating in the National Health Service Corps, an organization that provides primary health care to adults and children in the communities of greatest need across the US. She chose to practice in Schenectady, NY. Dr. Ashton explains, “that area of New York is very much like Appalachia with respect to its healthcare needs.” She spent two years practicing at Carver Community Health Center.

Dr. Ashton, now married, moved to Philadelphia with her husband while he attended the University of Pennsylvania. She was hired as the Assistant Director of Medical Education at St. Mary’s Hospital in their Internship training program, supervising the interns’ ICU rotation. They stayed a year and were ready to make a more permanent move. Dr. Ashton said, “I had been through Portland, Maine a few times on my way up the coast to Acadia and thought the city was really neat. We decided to give it a shot and make the move to Maine.”

Through friends, she was connected to Dr. Winton Briggs, then Medical Director of New England Rehabilitation Hospital. Dr. Briggs was looking for an internist to work at a rehabilitation hospital. He hired her and she was introduced to the world of rehabilitation. “The terminology was new and I couldn’t tell an OT from a PT,” chuckled Dr. Ashton. “I immediately enjoyed the work, the staff and the patients, and soon did become aware of the differences in the roles of the therapists.”

Dr. Ashton joined the active physician staff at NERHP in 1988 and has since become the Associate Medical Director. She states, “I really love the environment here. There is just so much energy given by our staff and they are the ones who make it work. I have the ability to follow through with my patients, which I wasn’t able to do working in the ICU. The team concept of care is great and I have found over the years that I learn the most from the others on the team.”

During our Medical Staff Highlight interview with Dr. Briggs, he told us that hiring Dr. Ashton was a godsend. She adapted quickly to rehabilitative medicine and helped out with a growing patient census right from the beginning. Her reputation has evolved during her years at NERHP as being a physician who is challenged by the more complex cases and it is often said by staff that she is a dedicated and compassionate caregiver. Dr. Ashton’s teenage son, Nate, describes her as “cool”. We agree!