“My staff have travelled this road with me for nearly the entire time and we form a family within a community with our patients.”
That’s from Dr. Teresa Cordoni, who’s called Port Coquitlam her place for home, work and care the last four decades with a firm focus on serving the health of all residents’ families.
Her efforts were nominated by some of her patients toward the BC College of Family Physicians (BCCFP) for its annual awards this month.
Ahead of Family Doctor Day, which is formally acknowledged in B.C. and around the world today (May 19), Cordoni was named the Fraser Health regional recipient of the My Family Doctor Award.
According to an anonymous patient’s testimony, provided to Tri-City News from the BCCFP, Cordoni supports multigenerational needs, bringing relief and comfort especially in the COVID-19 era.
“I am part of a very large family. Dr. Cordoni has always made each of us feel welcome, comfortable and, most of all, heard and safe in her trusted care,” the excerpt reads.
“Dr. Cordoni has laughed with us, cried with us, held our hands, delivered our babies and given us straight-up advice when we need it... It is reassuring (and slightly amazing) that she knows each of our family members’ health histories from memory and takes this information into account in her assessments and plans for treatment.”
Cordoni has a 4.5 rating on RateMDs.com and, according to online reviews, she’s described as "one of the top female primary care physicians" in the Tri-Cities.
For 38 years, she’s specialized in areas like newborn and preventive care, diabetes, chronic disease management, mental health care and women’s health.
The BCCFP says Cordoni has also collaborated with the Port Moody Maternity Clinic the last 10 years conducting referral obstetrics. “She feels very privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of her patients’ lives, both the joys and the sorrows,” the organization says. “[Cordoni] has cared for the grandparents, the parents, delivered their children, and is now delivering the babies of children that she delivered.”
Cordoni interned in New Zealand upon graduating from UBC and completed a year of orthopedic work in Vancouver before settling in Port Coquitlam.
The other regional BCCFP My Family Doctor Award recipients are as follows out of more than 350 patient submissions (in alphabetical order):
- Dr. Lauren Baerg, Island Health
- Dr. Louise Corcoran, Vancouver Coastal Health
- Dr. Shu Fung Ho, Northern Health
- Dr. Deon Van Rensburg, Interior Health
Family Doctor Day was first declared in 2010 by the World Organization of Family Doctors, which recognizes the relationship-based, comprehensive resources they provide to communities and contribute to the population’s overall health.
