Dr. Jinwah John Hoy is a podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon who serves the Greater Seattle area, including West Seattle and Burien. He provides comprehensive non-surgical and surgical care for all foot and ankle conditions from his office in Downtown Seattle as well as surgery and inpatient care at Swedish Medical Center. Though not a native speaker of Spanish, Dr. Hoy has been interested in the Spanish language and culture. He has studied the language from grade 7 to the first year of university, visited Spain and Mexico, and is part of a Hispanic family. He has assisted Spanish-speaking families and others in a variety of health care settings.
As a podiatric medical student and resident in training Dr. Hoy worked at various departments of hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego Area in rotations, each one month long for a period of several years. This provided opportunities to converse with patients in Spanish and translate for other colleagues.
After residency, Dr. Hoy worked in San Antonio, Texas, in a large practice of eleven podiatrists. A predominantly Hispanic and Spanish-speaking area, Dr. Hoy used Spanish on a daily basis. There is a large diabetic population in that city and many patients had foot wounds and infections. Working in a hospital setting to manage wounds and infections, and working closely with vascular surgery, cardiology, nephrology, internal medicine and hyperbarics and wound care specialists was a part of everyday practice.
Since relocating his practice to downtown Seattle, Dr. Hoy’s hometown, Dr. Hoy continues to see Spanish-speaking patients from throughout the State, including Eastern Washington.
In Seattle, Dr. Hoy sees patients with diverse pathologies in diverse settings in his solo practice. In addition to wound care and limb preservation, many of the patients are working professionals with injuries, or painful conditions and deformities, such as bunions and hammertoes, that affect their work and enjoyment of everyday life. Hospital work often involves elective surgery to resolve painful conditions. We work with other specialists on a referral basis. Taking care of our elders with feet problems is a special component of practice. Those who are at-risk because of poor circulation or nerve disease, and are able to do so, come to our office for check-ups and treatment.