2024 Health Care Champions Physician: Dr. Chan Ngo Reyes

Dr. Chan Ngo Reyes says she wanted to become a family physician so that she could make a positive impact on health care at a community level.

“I knew I would make a difference in the lives of many in our community as a family physician,” she says. “I have been blessed to have been able to provide health care to so many patients, from newborns less than one day of age in the hospitals to elderly patients in their 90s in the clinic.”

In 2006, just two years after starting her role as a full-time family medical physician at Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Reyes became the medical director of family medicine.

Jordan Valley is a federally qualified health center whose mission, Reyes says, is to provide comprehensive, quality and compassionate care to the medically underserved population, which oftentimes is also a vulnerable population.

“Many of our patients have multiple chronic medical conditions, acute symptoms, mental health conditions, chronic pain, substance-use disorders, dental issues and vision problems, all intertwined with complex social challenges, such as financial, transportation and housing insecurities and language barriers,” she says.

Reyes says her work includes championing health care not just as a physician and medical director, but also through being a part of a variety of medical disciplines, such as pediatrics and women’s health, as well as integrating primary care with Jordan Valley’s dental clinic and behavioral health clinic. In addition, Reyes says she has had opportunities to help develop processes and policies during clinic expansions.

Saying her mission is to help the clinic’s patients, Reyes contributes a portion of her paycheck toward Jordan Valley’s I2Care scholarship fund, which helps patients who have financial limitations cover costs. “It certainly is a wonderful way to impact our patients on yet another level,” she says.

Much of Reyes’ professional motivation stems from being in a Chinese immigrant family, whose parents, she says, risked their lives to come to America to build a better life for their children. She says she also has a calling from God to give back to the community through the medical field.

“My hope is that through my role as the medical provider for my many patients, I can improve the health care of my patients, who will, in turn, be able to care for their families and, hopefully, be able to make a positive impact on our community,” she says.