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USC Verdugo Hills Hospital doctor known for house calls retires after 53 years

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During his 53-year career practicing medicine, Dr. Eiming Djang was known for making house calls and taking extensive time to listen to patients, and on Thursday, more than 125 people offered him gratitude and well wishes as he retires.

Djang, a longtime USC Verdugo Hills Hospital physician, had a specialty in internal medicine with an interest in gastroenterology.

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Among the many patients who gathered in the Council Room at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital on Thursday for Djang’s retirement party were Karen and Ed Bryan.

The husband and wife have been going to Djang for 35 years, and for the past 20 years, they’ve made the trek to see 82-year-old Djang from their home in North County San Diego.

“When you find a doctor like that, you’ll go a long distance to make your appointments,” Karen Bryan said. “He always took time to listen, and has always known exactly the right thing to say or to do, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s like, I don’t dare ever get sick again.”

When Djang would check on patients in their homes, he was known to bring soup or Gatorade to help in their recovery.

His inspiration for making house calls up until his retirement was his own family doctor, who visited patients’ homes, and whom Djang received care from as a child growing up in Johannesburg as the son of a Chinese diplomat.

“He was the example for me. He was such a wonderful guy. He came to our birthdays. He came when we were sick. He set the bar,” Djang said.

When Djang wasn’t working, his home phone was always available for patients to call.

Burbank resident Corky Davis said her doctors referred her to Djang for gastrointestinal problems about two years ago.

“My doctors pretty much told me, ‘You have a choice. You can go to somebody who doesn’t do any procedures anymore, who is older and ready for retirement, who has a wealth of knowledge, or we can give you somebody who does procedures.’ I elected to go to Dr. Djang for his knowledge,” Davis said.

Her first visit with him lasted for over an hour.

“Where do you find a doctor nowadays that gives you that kind of time?” Davis asked. “I never, until the day he retired, would go to anybody else. He’s kind, he’s generous and he’s incredibly knowledgeable. There is nobody who can fill his shoes as far as I’m concerned.”

Stephanie Djang said her father was as committed to his family as he was to his patients.

“You would think that having a father who worked so much and made his patients feel like a priority, that my brother and I would feel left out. We never felt left out. When I was in high school and not doing well with math, he would make an appointment and get up early and go over all my math homework for me,” she said.

“And if we had anything down the street for school, he would close his office. He would come to the programs, and then he’d come [back to the hospital] and then work late. Any major event in our lives, every little thing, he was always there,” she added.

Sometimes, when he did work late, his wife, Ruby, and their two children would meet him for dinner in the hospital’s cafeteria.

In his retirement, Djang said he is looking forward to spending time with family, including his grandson, Timothy.

However, Keith Hobbs, chief executive of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, said he knows that Djang won’t be too hard to find.

“The community’s going to miss him when he goes into retirement mode, but he’ll probably only still be a phone call away,” Hobbs said.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan

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