Dr. Alan C. Yao (right) with Dr. Paresh Shah, Executive Vice President, Eastern Market and Chief Operating Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Sphere
Dr. Alan C. Yao got some of his earliest experience in medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens decades ago. Now he’s enriching the very facilities that helped shape how he cares for the Queens community and beyond.
From a young age, Dr. Alan C. Yao knew he wanted to help people—he just wasn’t sure what career best blended his passion for knowledge and his love of community. “My first job was when I was 15 years old. I worked at the Hamilton-Madison House in Chinatown as a junior counselor helping out the 8-to-10-year-old kids.” Following this, he worked in finance for the next seven years, before fully embracing healthcare. “Medicine is something that can satisfy my intellectual curiosity,” he shares. “And most importantly, I feel good knowing that I am able to help people right away.”
Born in China, Dr. Yao immigrated to Queens, New York, when he was 10. Reflecting on those early years, he recalls, “There were times when my mother was feeding me, and she was not eating because there was not enough food.” These experiences nurtured a lasting desire to give back and further sharpened his commitment to the community. “I’m fortunate that I’m in a better position now,” he says. “And I believe in giving back.” After pivoting from banking, Dr. Yao poured himself into medicine with an inspiring zeal. “I am in the community. The first time I came to Flushing was 1984,” he says. “Since 2001, I’ve been doing community medical practice—I want this community to be better.”
Dr. Yao would eventually graduate from the CUNY School of Medicine’s Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. As fate would have it, the first healthcare facility he would be stationed at as a medical student at would be the academic medical center in his home neighborhood: NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. “When I look at NewYork-Presbyterian, it’s a personal feeling,” he says. “I was here in 1991; at that time, I was a student learning how to examine patients. For me, Medicine 101 started here. The quality of care offered by this institution is paramount.”
Dr. Yao (second from left) with colleagues from NYP Queens
It would be on the NYP Queens campus where Dr. Yao would deepen his love of gastroenterology, admiring the field’s fusion of tactile treatment and multidisciplinary teamwork. As he developed his career Dr. Yao found ways to support the community beyond the operating room, joining local organizations like the Chinese American Independent Practice Association and donating to the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education,
For Dr. Yao, NYP Queens is not just a hospital but an embodiment of many of the values he believes in as a healthcare professional. “This hospital has made an amazing transformation since 1991.”, he says. “We are more patient-centered.” Dr. Yao continues, “Being a doctor, we all need to acquire the necessary knowledge and skill,” he says. “But listening to patients, compassion, empathy—that is much more important. Not just treat the disease but treat the patient as a whole.” Much like Dr. Yao, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is passionate about providing high-quality care to New York City’s most culturally diverse borough, with care teams committed to addressing some of the most pressing health issues facing the community at large.
Deeply dedicated to the people of Flushing, Dr. Yao is now determined to enrich the institutions that serve them. In addition to supporting the Sophie Davis School, Dr. Yao has pledged $1.5 million in support of leading-edge care at NYP Queens. “I’m getting old,” he says with a smile. “I have many things I want to do. First is good health and living longer. But also to give back—to the people, the school, the place that got me to this position.”