Millennium Magazine_6th Ed

234 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine W ith his father’s encouragement, Dr. Walter Hai-Tze Tsou chose to pursue a career in internal medicine, but almost by serendipity, fell into the field of public health. Dr. Tsou received a BA in 1974 and an MD in 1978, both from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1988, he obtained an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he received the John C. Hume Award, and an honorary Doctor of Medical Sciences from Drexel University in 2001. Dr. Tsou completed his residency in internal medicine at the Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in 1981, and then spent 10 years as a clinician turned clinical director at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. He served as Medical Director and Deputy Director of Personal Health Services at the Montgomery County Health Department from 1991 to 2000 before returning to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health for two years as Health Commissioner. He then served on the American Public Health Association Executive Board, serving as their President in 2005. Although retired from medicine since 2005, he has been an Adjunct Professor within the department of community and family health at the University of Pennsylvania since 2009. Dr. Tsou was named Practitioner of the Year by the Philadelphia County Medical Society in 2011. He attributes his success to the opportunities he has earned throughout his career, as well as his mentors, Dr. Quentin Young and Dr. Robert Sharrar. A memorable moment of Dr. Tsou’s career was his involvement with the American Cancer Society in starting a mobile mammography program for low-income women in Philadelphia who were unable to be screened. Dr. Tsou made it his mission to change that, and he helped multiple women catch their breast cancer diagnosis early on. Dr. Tsou is a member of the American Public Health Association, a fellow of the College Physicians of Philadelphia and a past chaiman of the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum. WALTER HAI-TZE TSOU, MD INTERNIST, PUBLIC HEALTH PHYSICIAN (RETIRED) Philadelphia, PA HEALTH AND WELLNESS