By Maya Meinert
Even though Winston Wong now has a big job as medical director of community benefit at Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest nonprofit health care provider, he still maintains a small family medicine practice.
“I want to always learn and remember what our patients face every day,” said Wong, who is tasked at Kaiser with developing partnerships with communities in advancing population management and evidence-based medicine, with an emphasis on safety net providers and elimination of health disparities.
In his speech, Wong told the audience of social work students and faculty about one of his patients, a Chinese woman in her 50s who spoke only Cantonese and complained of back pain. Thinking he had adequately diagnosed her problem, he prescribed some painkillers and sent her on her way. Two months later, she returned with the same issue. That’s when he discovered the reason behind her back pain: She spends her days stooping in wastebaskets looking for recyclable bottles and cans.
“The roots of her pain were related to poverty,” Wong said. “Even though I try to be the greatest doctor in the world, it’s not enough.”