Dr. Christopher Wong
Christopher Wong, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine was recently honoured with 2016 Fraser Health Above & Beyond’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is given to those colleagues have made a lasting contribution to Fraser Health’s work and culture for more than a decade.
Each year, Fraser Health recognizes employees, physicians and volunteers who go above and beyond to improve patient care and services in local communities with their annual Above & Beyond Awards. This year, Fraser Health celebrated 19 incredible individuals and teams making a difference in health care.
From the beginning of his 50-year career, Dr. Christopher Wong has devoted himself to ending the spread of infectious disease. He first joined Fraser Health as a family doctor with access to Royal Columbian Hospital in 1966. He returned after further training in 1977 as an internal medicine specialist and Fraser Health’s first infectious-disease trained physician. Dr. Wong founded the Infectious Disease sub-specialty in Fraser Health, and grew the division across sites. In his 50 years at Royal Columbian he’s treated thousands of patients, diagnosing a host of rare diseases, including anthrax, a potentially-fatal bacterial infection. He’s also driven research and innovation. He created the Community IV Therapy Program, which allows patients who need ongoing intravenous antibiotics to receive treatment at home. He’s been a lifelong advocate for cautious use of antibiotics to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria in our hospitals. He chaired the antimicrobial stewardship committee and was a principal investigator of a C. difficile vaccine trial, which aimed to find better ways to prevent C. diff infections in high-risk patients.. Employees and colleagues praise his diagnostic skills and calm demeanour. Dr. Wong retired in December.
Fraser Health’s Above & Beyond Awards were presented on Sept. 21 at a ceremony at Surrey City Hall.