In this Living in Naperville episode, host Dan Firks visits Dr. Anna Yang, a podiatrist and owner of Foundation Foot and Ankle Center in South Naperville. Dr. Yang talks about her foot and ankle practice, the sports injuries she treats for local student athletes, and why she runs an independent, patient-first clinic.
Read the full podiatry deep dive with Dr. Anna Yang →
Video Transcript
Dan Firks: Welcome to this episode of Living in Naperville. Today I have the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Anna Yang, a podiatrist here in South Naperville. Let’s go check it out. So Anna, tell me a little bit about yourself and your practice here.
Dr. Anna Yang: Well, I’m Anna, I’m a podiatrist. I started this practice, Foundation Foot and Ankle Center, in 2021 after having my son, who is now three. Previously I worked out in the Joliet area as an associate. I don’t think you know this, but I’m originally from New Orleans.
Dan Firks: I did not know that.
Dr. Anna Yang: Yeah. I did my undergraduate at Tulane University, and I then did my residency at Jesse Brown VA in Chicago. While there, I met my husband, and then we got married and moved to Naperville in 2019.
Dan Firks: And how do you love living in Naperville?
Dr. Anna Yang: Oh, I love Naperville.
Dan Firks: Excellent. So Anna, tell me, what is your specialty?
Dr. Anna Yang: I treat anything that’s foot and ankle related, in both adults and kids. I do take an interest in sports medicine, especially since I get a lot of students here with sports injuries, with five high schools and the District 203 and 204 school systems here in Naperville.
Dan Firks: I can imagine you must be very busy with the students.
Dr. Anna Yang: Yes indeed, and they’re all very pleasant when they come in here.
Dan Firks: Excellent. Well, they need to be.
Dr. Anna Yang: Yeah, with their parents there.
Dan Firks: Anna, tell me, what is your passion? Why did you get into podiatry?
Dr. Anna Yang: I’ve always been really passionate about medicine. I love the surgical and the medical aspect of both, and podiatry was able to offer me a hybrid, and I really greatly enjoy it.
Dan Firks: And what’s the biggest challenge, would you say, when somebody comes in here with an injury?
Dr. Anna Yang: Compliance. It’s just really hard to break it to them sometimes, especially if they’re an athlete, and I have to say, oh, you have to be out of working out or participating in sports for about two weeks. It’s really tough to get the point across, the importance of recovery so they can continue playing and participating. A lot of these students here in Naperville are very competitive.
Dan Firks: Yes.
Dr. Anna Yang: So that’s probably the hardest thing for them to take. And honestly, it’s more that they don’t want to let their team down. I get that a lot.
Dan Firks: It’s all about teamwork.
Dr. Anna Yang: It really is.
Dan Firks: So Anna, tell me, what differentiates you from other podiatrists?
Dr. Anna Yang: You know, nowadays there are less and less independent doctors. More and more doctors are associated with corporations or hospitals. We’re kind of like a dying breed, being independently owned and practicing. I prefer that, quite frankly. I’d rather be more one-on-one versus some big corporation. I feel like with the whole corporation model, a little bit of that community feel is lost.
Dan Firks: We do love community here in Naperville.
Dr. Anna Yang: We do. For example, when someone calls to ask a simple question or to make an appointment, they’re likely going to encounter an automated message or a call center. For our office, when someone calls, there’s always a staff member available to answer, more one-on-one, and they’re able to help right away. And if they can’t, the patient can always talk to me.
Dan Firks: How often do you get to talk to the doctor directly?
Dr. Anna Yang: Oh, my patients are always like, wow, I get to talk to you, and that’s so quick. I always call them back within 24 hours if they request to talk to me. And you know, Dan, by having my own practice, I feel like it really allowed me to be patient-centric. I don’t double-book my appointments, and I really minimize the wait time.
Dan Firks: You’re not going to make me wait in the waiting room for a half hour when my appointment started 15 minutes ago?
Dr. Anna Yang: No. If you check in at 1:00 p.m., you’re likely brought back within five minutes, and then once you’re in the room, it’s usually within 10 minutes at the most, and I’ll be in there. My patients love it.
Dan Firks: It’s all about customer service.
Dr. Anna Yang: It really is. And I will say that my patients really appreciate that I don’t rush through the appointment. By being solely responsible for my patients’ well-being and not answering to anyone else, it really allows me to practice in a way where I’m putting the patient first.
Dan Firks: So Anna, tell me, what are the signs or signals people might have that they should come see you right away?
Dr. Anna Yang: You know, Dan, here in Naperville the majority of the population is very active. Even though they’re active, I always remind my patients that if you’re running or playing sports and you ever have an injury where you’re unable to walk, stand, or you’re just in severe pain, come and see me within 24 hours. There have been so many times when a patient comes in super active, they were running, and they say, oh, I sprained my ankle, I thought it was going to go away, and then they couldn’t really walk after. They would go to urgent care days later, an x-ray would be taken, and they were told, hey, you have a broken bone, here’s some medication, go follow up with a podiatrist.
Dan Firks: That totally makes sense. So make sure when you’re feeling something that’s not right, you call Anna.
Dr. Anna Yang: Absolutely, because you may need a more aggressive treatment in order to bounce back to activity faster. Otherwise you’re just lengthening your treatment time, and you can’t really do what you love, and it’ll take you longer to get back on the field.
Dan Firks: Absolutely. You’re right, I appreciate it. Well, Anna, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with the community today. I really appreciate that, and we’ll see you around town.
Dr. Anna Yang: Thank you so much, Dan, and thank you for the opportunity.
Dan Firks: Absolutely. Be sure to like and subscribe to get updates on our next episode, and for all your real estate needs, please visit Naperville.com.
Read the full podiatry deep dive with Dr. Anna Yang in Naperville →
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