Meet The Team: Restoration Healthcare Medical Director — Sunny Raleigh, D.O.

Dr. Sunny Raleigh brings all her osteopathic medical skills to Restoration Healthcare where, as our medical director, she is tasked with finding, treating and reversing the root cause of our patient’s symptoms.

To that end, each morning as she leaves for work, she also packs up a lifetime of experience as a mother, wife and doctor and brings that along with her. And whenever she discusses her family, husband or profession, she sprinkles in words like honor and gratitude and humility.

Because Sunny loves what she does — both inside and outside the office environment. And that’s what we call living life to the fullest. Let’s hear more about this important member of the Restoration Healthcare team:

Restoration Healthcare: What did you do prior to coming to work for Restoration Healthcare?

Sunny Raleigh: Upon moving to California last August, I joined Marque Urgent Care. In fact, I still work several shifts there each month because I love the exposure to the many facets of medicine. While living in Maine for nine years, I studied and utilized three branches of medicine — family medicine, osteopathic manual medicine, and functional medicine. As an osteopathic physician, seeking health in the system fosters an all-encompassing approach that empowers patients to make life-long changes in their healthcare.

RH: What attracted you to Restoration Healthcare?

SR: Upon meeting Dr. Bakman, I knew he was a special individual who also wants to restore healthcare — one patient at a time. He speaks with enthusiasm from his heart. As we began to share our goals for a dream practice, we realized those goals aligned well and Restoration Healthcare fully manifested.

RH: When you’re not working, what do you like to do in your spare time?

SR: The wonderful part of my life is that I do not consider my occupation as work. I love my line of work, because it is such an honor and a blessing to have individuals open up their lives to me. I see myself as a companion on a journey towards health, and hope I can offer guidance on implementing lasting change. I hope to continue learning on a daily basis from my greatest teachers — my patients. In any spare time, my husband and I enjoy shooting hoops, kicking a soccer ball around, crafting and preparing meals with our three boys.

RH: What reality TV show should you be on and why would you win or be the first person kicked off?

SR: I watch very little TV, so I am not up to date. My brother-in-law, though, was a contestant on the reality show, Fear Factor. He won by eating a sheep’s eyeball. I was a vegetarian at that time, so I would have never even made it to the table. If I could win a kitchen makeover, however, I would gladly agree to participate.

RH: What’s one thing not many people know about you?

SR: I love to set up elaborate Playmobil scenes with my three boys.

RH: What year did you graduate from college, what college(s) did you attend, and what did you major and/or minor in?

SR: In 1997 I received a degree in both biology and psychology — double majors — from the University of Denver (DU). I originally began my college career in Miami at Florida International University. Due to serendipitous events, I transferred to DU for soccer and I met my husband in biology class.

RH: When it comes to your work, what are you most passionate about?

SR: I am humbled by the power of the body’s inherent ability to heal from within and heal on a deeper level. Restoring vitality into a patient’s life fosters the vitality I feel in mine.