Letter of departure to patients of LLU clinic in Highland, California

September 26, 2015

Dearest LLU Patients:

I thought it would be best to write you a letter to let you know about a decision my family & I recently made. I write this letter with great difficulty because I’m not sure where to begin or how best to write what I have to say…

After a few years’ discussion & for multiple family reasons, our family will be moving away to the Santa Ana area in the next months. While originally our plan was that I’d commute to our Highland clinic from Orange County, in the end we decided the commute would be too much of a strain on the family, & I accepted a job offer with a non-profit clinic closer by. Accordingly, my last day in our Highland LLU clinic will be Tuesday December 1, 2015.

One reason I wanted to write you was to let you know how much I have appreciated you. For those who were at Highland when I joined faculty in 2004, you may recall that my time with LLU was originally planned to be a short 2 years as I prepared to serve fulltime at a hospital in Niger (west Africa). Painful personal issues, & then important family concerns altered that course dramatically, but little did I realize that in lieu of a life of adventure overseas, I would be given 11 ½ years of adventure serving you here in my own hometown of Highland/San Bernardino.

I want you to know that I have considered it a great honor to serve your families (in many cases 3 generations at once!), to watch you enter different stages of life, to learn so much about life from you (eg: phrases in your native tongues), and to share your sorrows & your joys as we worked through many difficult medical conditions together. I have considered my role in your lives to be a sacred calling, & I pray that God used me to touch your families with a kind of wholeness that includes physical health, to be sure, but extends far beyond.

Another reason I wanted to write was to assist in the whole transition process. In case you need to tie up any medical issues with me, please be sure to go forward quickly with the studies & referrals we have recommended, and set your follow-up appointments with me as soon as possible so that we can formulate a clear care plan before I leave December 1.
For my pediatric patients, please know that I leave you in the very caring & capable hands of my pediatric colleagues already well established here at Highland. For my adult patients, you may recall that we Med-Peds (combined internal medicine & pediatrics) doctors are a rather rare breed here in the West, so our transition plan is still in flux. Please see the attached letter for information from our department regarding this transition. Your patience with us in this whole process is greatly appreciated, & you may check in with Highland’s front desk staff for any updates.

Again, thank you for the honor of serving as your physician during this very meaningful season of my life. I pray for your continued growth & health, & I’d very much appreciate your prayer as well during our transition as we care of present family needs as well as plan for the future (overseas service is still our hope). In a very real way, I will miss you.

Blessings Until We Meet Again,
Sidney Wu, MD, FAAP, FACP