The February 13th episode of the popular drama series marked the debut of Shoshannah Stern, whose historic character is a recurring deaf doctor.

When casting Stern, showrunner Krista Vernoff didn’t initially realize that this would prove to be a historic first. Vernoff created the character of Dr. Riley around Stern, whom she met at the 2019 TV Academy Foundation panel. “I fell in love with her as a human, as a communicator, as an actress. I thought she was incredible and I wanted to put her on my show,” Vernoff remarked in an interview with Variety. “And so to learn that on the day that she was working that this was the first deaf doctor who’s ever appeared on network television? How is that possible?”

According to Stern, she has long desired an acting position in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, so becoming a reccuring character on the show is a dream come true. Representing disabilities in film and television is an important issue to both Stern and Vernoff, and Stern has commented that she is amazed by the “profound” response from deaf professionals in the medical field. She hopes that encouraging the representation of deaf doctors on TV will also help to encourage deaf patients to follow their dreams and to continue to do what they love.