2014.036.020 Oral History Interview with Dr. Sun-Hoo Foo July 14, 2004
In this interview, Dr. Sun-Hoo Foo discusses his profession as a doctor in Chinatown as well as his personal family background. Dr. Sun-Hoo Foo talks about his cultural roots, his training, his specialty as the director of neurology, and the aftermath of 9/11 and how 9/11 impacted his patients. Dr. Sun-Hoo Foo He mentions how there are multiple outreach organizations throughout America and Canada that help Chinese immigrants who are sick. He mentions the differences between Western and Chinese medicine and how he tries to cater to Chinese/Asian patients. He also touches upon mental health awareness in Chinese patients.

0:10 - Introduction, profession as a doctor, person and professional background, Chinatown, Bellevue Hospital, working closely with Chinatown patients, director of neurology, stroke rate, Black patients, Hispanic patients, Chinese patients, hypertension, high cholesterol, NYU, Asian Health Center, minority patients

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4:26 - Chinatown medical community, moving practice downtown to Chinatown, medical resources changing in Chinatown, immigrants without insurance, Chinese American Medical Society, IPA, doctors working hard, open on weekends, accessibility to patients who work, Charles Wang clinic, professional network, Federation of Chinese American Medical Society, Hepatitis B vaccination, hepatoma

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11:03 - Cultural issues related to Chinese medical needs, Chinese traditional treatments, yin and yang, patients not like going to hospitals, language barrier, preference for hot water, outreach programs in Chinese, Chinese newspapers, adults working multiple jobs to support families, Asian Heath Center, 65% of patients are Asians

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14:39 - Demographic changes, minority issue, 14% increase in Asian population downtown, cirrhosis, California Chinese hospital, joint efforts in treating Chinese patients, 9/11, air downtown after 9/11, no electricity after 9/11, hard to contact patients, being a neurologist, losing his patients due to job insecurity

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19:23 - Healthcare, less patients coming in, financial stress, economy downturn, encouraging sick patients to come in, asbestos issues, asthma, cancer, stroke issues, why Chinese patients bleed more due to stroke issues, public health issues, hepatitis B, Taiwan, infectious diseases like TB, lung infections, western food causing high cholesterol, osteoporosis, Western data

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25:36 - Adult neurologist, seeing old and young patients, back pains and migraines, patient population changing during career, insurance changing, seeing less patients in the hospital, more outpatient patients, Parkinson disease, chronic disease, HMO, Medicare

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28:03 - Aftermath of 9/11, being in a meeting at NYU during 9/11, daughter going to Columbia, 400 people covered in dust in emergency room, ambulances coming, injured workers, firemen, policemen, hospital covered by dust, no telephone service, no electricity, everyone in high spirits, suffering after 9/11 due to blockages and no electricity

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31:37 - Taking a while for things to get back to normal, trying to cope, general feeling of Chinatown, restaurants being closed on Mott street, garment factories being closed, very quiet, medical institutions, federal and state initiatives, plane hitting, having more doctors than patients, government setting up an operating place in Chelsea

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36:38 - SARS scare, people worried about catching SARS, son being in medical school, being trained in Taiwan, growing up in Malaysia, Australia and Canada, father going to Malaysia due to war, medical publications and journals in Chinese, St. Vincent at Bridgeport, Asians not coming to the hospital unless very sick

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41:00 - Psychiatrist, problem with mental health in elderly women, patients having depression, Asian Health Center, Chinese and Western cultures being very different, family being important, shameful to see psychiatrist as a Chinese patient, language and cultural barrier, more Asians studying medicine

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45:45 - Living in New Jersey, being an immigrant with nothing, North Jersey, living in a small community, taking kids to a Chinese School, kids majoring in Chinese in college, setting up a website to learn Chinese, learning Chinese the traditional way, lotuses in Chinese paintings, meaning of lotus, Chinese calligraphy

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50:55 - Coming to Chinatown as an immigrant, Korean War, need for physicians during war, some immigrants having to change their professions, being fortunate to have a profession, having enough money, raising kids

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53:43 - Chinatown having waves of immigration, second generation immigrant, raising money for the hospital, federal government aid, having a concert every two years to help raise money, hospital after 9/11, HMO, to better service the community, future of Chinatown, wanting Chinatown to prosper, giving patients more resources, multicultural society

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