WTMF Welcomes New Internist to Union City Clinic

A Bay Area native, Hanisha Geedipally, MD, found her passion for medicine at an early age. First in elementary school in Fremont, and later in middle and high school in Cupertino, Dr. Geedipally was fascinated by human anatomy and physiology and read everything she could in her local libraries about medicine, disease processes, and caring for the community. After graduating from high school in 2010, she moved to India to attend SVS Medical College, then completed her internship and residency in internal medicine in Pennsylvania in 2024. The seed planted to care for the community so many years before bloomed when Dr. Geedipally returned to Alameda County in October to practice at the Washington Township Medical Foundation (WTMF) Nakamura Clinic in Union City. As part of the internal medicine care team, she will care for adult patients with a variety of diagnoses in her practice, including diabetes.

After training for 14 years, this is Dr. Geedipally’s first opportunity to practice as part of a clinic team. “I wanted to come home,” Dr. Geedipally shared. “And it was very important to me to work with a hospital that really cared about the community. Washington Hospital Healthcare System (WHHS) fits that description.”

“They also really care about their physicians and other care providers,” she continued. “I felt that warmth and welcome from the minute I first spoke with them. I knew I wanted to practice here, where I felt supported.”

She also felt welcomed by her new patients. Dr. Geedipally admits to a small case of nerves on her first day in the office seeing patients, but described the patients she’s seen as, “lovely, the best, and so receptive to me.”

Each One, Teach One
According to the 2020 national census, like Dr. Geedipally’s family, nearly half the population in southern Alameda County are of South Asian descent. This ties in perfectly with her passion to teach her patients more about a healthy lifestyle as she treats them.

“I am passionate about patient education,” she said. “With cultural understanding, it is a critical part of the process. One of the advantages I will have with the Asian population in general is that I can really understand and relate to their lived experiences because I come from that same background. That allows me to truly cater my advice to their specific lifestyle, because I know what they do at home. I know what their diets consist of, how they approach activities of daily living, and how they see medical intervention. When I talk about these things with them, they know I understand.”

A prime reason patient education is so important is to highlight preventable diseases and stop them before they can cause serious damage. For South Asian patients, that includes diabetes. She explained studies have shown South Asians have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than other ethnic groups and may develop it at younger ages than people from other ethnic backgrounds. In addition, South Asians experience significant morbidity and mortality from complications of diabetes, most notably coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease. These are all preventable outcomes from uncontrolled diabetes.

“Prevention is a huge aspect of primary care, so I want to take a more collaborative approach to my management, and that includes not just medications and medical treatment, but lifestyle changes, dietary changes, all of that,” Dr. Geedipally noted. “At the same time, I don’t want to be a taskmaster. Patient care is not one-size-fits-all, and I want to help my patients find the best path to health for them, then help them work toward that. It’s not me telling them what to do, and then my job is done,” she continued. “I won’t be dismissive of their challenges. We will work together to make sure they feel heard.”

Continuing Education
Dr. Geedipally’s continuing education is as crucial as the education she will provide to her patients. She’s looking forward to learning from her WTMF physician peers as well as University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Health physicians through the strategic partnership WHHS has with UCSF Health for a comprehensive and integrated regional health care network to provide access to specialized care.

“I know I will have opportunities for mentorship with my fellow WTMF internists,” she said. “I’m really excited to learn more from these physicians and other team members who have been providing excellent care over the years. It’s also very helpful to have strategic partners at UCSF when we need to reach out for specialty consults or if I have questions."

“Continuous learning – lifelong learning – will help me become the best physician I can be,” she continued. “I know I will be able to provide outstanding care to my patients with this strong support system behind me.”

For more information on Internal Medicine services at Washington Township Medical Foundation, visit https://www.mywtmf.com/services/internal-medicine/.