Hidden Gems: Meet Theresa Wong of W Geriatrics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Wong

Hi Theresa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley of California, speaking fluent Mandarin, Spanish, and English.
In my third year of medical school at UC San Diego, I encountered the book “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande and set the course of my career toward geriatrics. I looked for every opportunity to work with older people in every medical setting. I even took a year to obtain a Masters of Public Health with a focus on aging at UC Berkeley. After completing my internal medicine residency at UCSF, I finished the final stage of my training, geriatric medicine fellowship at UCSF.

Geriatric medicine is the essence of everything I love about being a doctor: fascinating life stories, medical complexity, and opportunity to effect meaningful change with good medical decisions.

My first job as a full-fledged geriatrician was at a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) in Seattle, WA. There, I worked with a stellar interdisciplinary team to provide all the resources necessary for older, low-income adults in downtown Seattle to thrive in the community. The goal of the program was to prevent emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and nursing home admission by addressing the patients’ needs early and comprehensively.

By March of 2024, I decided it was time to come home. Returning to Los Angeles, as city that was familiar yet new to me, gave me the courage to start my own practice, W Geriatrics. Too often I saw the limitations of bureaucracy and insurance restrictions interfere with optimizing care for older adults. Through W Geriatrics, I can be the doctor that my patients deserve. My patients pay a monthly out-of-pocket fee to have direct access to my phone at all hours, unlimited office and virtual visits, and I even do house calls.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To be honest, nothing in our careers as physicians will ever be as difficult as residency. There has been a learning curve to launching a small business, with the sensation of building a plane while you’re flying it. It is challenging at times to explain the business model to people, because it’s such a new concept. However, nowadays, older adults really have no great options for primary care. The American healthcare system is failing them.

We’ve been impressed with W Geriatrics, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a primary care doctor with a speciality with geriatrics, the care of older people. I am tri-lingual, board-certified, and UCSF-trained. I started W Geriatrics, a membership-based primary care private practice. Like a gym membership, the monthly out-of-pocket fee gives you unlimited virtual and office visits, direct access to my cell phone, and I do house calls as needed.
Navigating today’s American healthcare system has become frustrating, and even dangerous, for older adults and those who care for them. I will not only provide personalized, accessible care, but also expertly help my patients navigate the healthcare system, with the ultimate goal of maintaining their health, independence, and peace of mind

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Going to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm whenever friends or family were in town visiting.

Pricing:

• $180/month includes 2 house calls per year
• $280/month includes 10 house calls per year

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wgeriatrics.com
• Instagram: @w.geriatrics
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/w-geriatrics-pasadena