On October 16, 2022, La Clínica celebrated the careers of Dr. Susan Sykes, Dr. Kam Wong, and Susana Praver, PA-C. We thank Dr. Susan Sykes, Dr. Kam Wong, and Susana Praver, PA-C for their many years of service to our patients and mission. Below are some highlights from their long careers at La Clínica.
Congratulations on retirement!
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Dr. Kam Wong completed his residency as a podiatrist in 1986. Shortly thereafter, he began looking for opportunities in his field while starting his office practice in Oakland; it was pure serendipity that he ended up at San Antonio Neighborhood Health Center (SANHC). In those early years, he remembers the old clinic was small and cramped, but extremely efficient and intimate. Years later, he was asked to also work at La Clínica Transit Village so patients didn’t have to travel to SANHC.
He stayed at La Clínica for 36 years because he was impressed by the staff’s dedication and the impact in the community. “I saw the need for our services and the appreciation expressed by the patients. The fact that I came from a poor immigrant family background probably contributed a bit,” he said.
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Dr. Susan Sykes worked as an OB-GYN at La Clínica for more than 35 years. She worked at La Clínica’s Women’s Health department in Transit Village, where she also served as the Associate Medical Director before her retirement.
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Susana Praver, PA-C first came to La Clinica as a Physician Assistant student completing her observership in 1978. The following year she completed her clinical rotations at San Antonio Neighborhood Health Center, which wasn’t yet a part of La Clínica.
It was during that time that a staff from La Clínica mentioned a job opening at the Women’s Health department. After her successful job interview, La Clínica offered Susana the position, but she still had three months of school left and couldn’t leave school early, so they held the job for her. “I graduated on Friday, September 5, 1980 and next Monday, September 8, 1980 I was working at La Clínica; I have been here ever since,” she recalls.
She decided to stay at La Clínica for more than 42 years because of her commitment to La Clínica’s patients, her colleagues, and the organization’s mission.
“I have always loved our patient population and have felt useful and appreciated. I developed a lot of relationships with patients that I saw over the years. Sometimes the kids I took care of in utero would grow up and come back as patients and I would take care of them as young women. Overall, when you feel good in a job, you just want to stay,” she said.
Susana served as the Clinic Manager for La Clínica Transit Village Women’s Health department, and later as the Associate Medical Director of that department.