While most would agree that the team at Portsmouth Regional Hospital is like family, it's truer for some than others.
Take, for example, chief of cardiology Dr. Peter Dourdoufis and his daughter Maddie, an emergency room physician assistant, who often cross paths in the hallways. Or infectious disease physician Dr. Dafer Haddadin, who is delighted when he bumps into his daughter, Dr. Areen Haddadin, an internist.
“To find two generations of providers in the same hospital is rare, but finding multiple examples is a testament to the culture of the hospital itself and the individuals who build that culture,” said Dr. Brian Sanders, chief medical officer at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. “Peter, Maddie, Dafer and Areen are perfect examples of the medical professionals we seek to bring to Portsmouth and we are fortunate to benefit from the positive impact they have on their patients and this community.”
For Maddie, who grew up in the Portsmouth community, coming to work for the hospital as a physician assistant last year was the realization of a lifelong dream.
“I always wanted to work here,” she said. “I was born in this hospital. When I was a kid, I was visiting my dad here. There's no other place I would want to start my career.”
Maddie's first shifts at Portsmouth Regional Hospital were during summer breaks from college with stints in teleneurology, the ICU, the cardiovascular operating room and central sterilization.
“I was everywhere in the hospital and I absolutely loved it,” she said. “I really fell in love with medicine then -- talking to patients, listening to them, taking care of them.”
Peter, who goes by Dr. D, came to Portsmouth 30 years ago and supported the launch of what was then a new open-heart program and watched it evolve into one of top hospitals in the country for cardiovascular care.
“The fact that I've been able to do this here and raise my kids in this community is the best of all worlds,” he said.
When it came to Maddie's pursuit of a career in medicine, “I kind of stayed out of it,” Dr. D said, adding that he wanted to allow her to choose her own path. But he was always quick to offer a clinical perspective or advice when it came to her medical education.
“I think it was beneficial for both of us because I had an opportunity to review things that I hadn't seen in a long time and she had the opportunity to get my viewpoint on things, which kind of helped her understand things better,” he said. “We made each other better.”
Ultimately, he was thrilled when she chose to become a physician assistant and beyond excited to have her join him at Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
“It's a privilege to have the opportunity to watch her grow professionally and to see her choose a field that I've chosen myself,” he said. “It's just hard not to smile every day when I see her. I'm very proud.”
For Dafer Haddadin, it was his daughter who brought him to Portsmouth.
After completing her internal medicine residency at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in 2024, Areen joined the team as a primary care physician. Having attended medical school in Chicago, she realized she wanted to be a community doctor.
“It's the connections you form with patients. That's why I chose primary care - I really value my relationships with my patients,” she said, adding that Portsmouth was a “natural fit.”
Dafer, who was working at a hospital in Indiana, found himself missing his daughters, both of whom were on the East Coast. When Areen saw an opening for her father, she pounced.
“She recruited me,” said Dafer, who came to Portsmouth as an associate program director for internal medicine residency and joined the infectious disease team. “She drove the next phase of my career.”
Areen, who briefly worked under her father when he arrived in New Hampshire, said having her father and mentor back was an amazing comfort.
“He was my dad, and my boss and also my roommate when he first got here,” she said with a laugh. “He cooked and cleaned.”
It was Dafer's commitment to serving the community that inspired Areen to follow in his footsteps. Born in a small village in Jordan, Dafer said he realized as a teen that there was only one local doctor working in the village's hospital. He made the decision to become a physician with the goal of one day returning to the village to better serve the community.
He has carried that belief in connection with him throughout his career.
“I always liked interacting with people and feeling the reward you get from making them better or making them happier,” he said. “That's the best reward you can get, really, as a human being.”
That clearly rubbed off on Areen.
“That was a driving force and inspiration to see how my dad connected with his patients,” she said. “It showed how much of a difference you can make in someone's life.”
Now, Dafer is preparing to check one last box in his long medical career by scaling back on his work in Portsmouth so that he can split his time between New Hampshire and his native Jordan.
“I am going back to fulfill my dream as a kid,” he said. “I'm going back to the spot where I said I'm going to do this for my town.”
$webqFacilityNumber
Need a Physician?