“I had no intention of becoming a doctor,” says Phyllis Gee, M.D. “Growing up in a predominantly Jewish community in the Northeast, I was the only Black kid in my first-grade class, until sixth grade, in my school.”
It was then that Dr. Gee met the district truant officer, who was enthusiastic about encouraging students of color to seek career opportunities. His impact was powerful: She would later become the first Black female physician in Collin County and a mentor to generations of young doctors.
At 5 years old, Gee moved with her mother to Long Island, New York, from Baltimore, Maryland. Not long after, a tragedy occurred: her mother succumbed to breast cancer. (Gee would later diagnose all three of her sisters’ first clinical indications of breast cancer; she is the only sister not genetically predisposed to it.) She was raised by her aunt and uncle.
“My uncle was a college graduate; he made more money as a chauffeur for the city service president than as a teacher back then,” says Gee. “He instilled in me the importance of getting extra education.”
It worked. Gee obtained a bachelor of science degree in nutrition from Cornell University and attended medical school at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Gee began her career serving in the National Health Service Corps as a Columbia Presbyterian Hospital faculty member. She was also an attending physician and instructor at the Harlem Hospital Center, a neighborhood center two doors down from the Apollo Theatre in New York.
During a trip to Plano, Texas, in 1985 to tour Frito-Lay’s new headquarters with her husband, Gee fell in love with the community. Frito-Lay opened the first significant office campus in west Plano, beginning a new major employment center, and within three years, Gee would call North Texas home.
“When we moved into Plano and went into Tom Thumb at Preston and Park, we were like ‘Hi,’ because we didn’t see many Black people around,” says Gee. “In Plano, I believe that I am for sure [one of the first Black physicians],” says Gee. “My friend Carlos came not long after me, then Brian Johnson. I can’t imagine there were any Black physicians back then.” Even today, Black women make up 7% of the population; however, they only represent 3% of medical doctors.
By 1990, Plano was experiencing rapid growth, including the arrival of corporate campuses in the Legacy area, massive employment growth and westward expansion. Within the next few years, Gee saw a slight demographic shift.
But Gee understands the reality for women of color, especially in a predominantly white area. Practicing medicine often comes with an amount of skepticism, racism and biases. “When I was working for Cigna, I picked up from a patient, she shared that she didn’t plan on coming back because she didn’t plan to see a Black doctor,” states Gee. “However, I diagnosed her cancer, and later, she confided that she was very thankful that I found her disease.”
While scouting practice locations, Gee encountered another challenge: patient referrals proved difficult, so she established her practice from scratch with no assistance.
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Due to the meager number of Black physicians, many are at a disadvantage when finding mentors. Changing hiring practices so that organizations pair with institutions known for training workers of color is a first step.
Gee recognized that if she didn’t take the future of Black doctors into her own hands, nothing would change — she would have to bring up the next generation. But, after noticing an all-Black practitioner staff, a colleague asked Gee about her hiring practices. “I asked the physician if I would ask someone else that same question?” says Gee. “All of my physicians are highly qualified, well-educated women.”
Dr. Chandra Brown, a primary care physician at Internal Medicine Associates of Plano, is just one recipient of Gee’s investment. Upon graduating from medical school and completing residency training in family medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee, the fresh-faced young physician headed to the Lone Star State and joined a group practice of urgent care physicians. Brown met Gee at church, igniting a life-long friendship.
“After I left the urgent care group, Dr. Gee allowed me and my partner to operate out of her practice for a minimal price because she was invested in seeing us grow,” says Brown. “She’s been instrumental in every aspect of my journey.”
Since then, Brown has been named to the U.S. News and World Report, Castle Connolly Medical Top Doctors and listed in the Local Profile November/December 2022 Top Doctors issue.
Gee’s commitment to physicians is a catalyst for building succession plans in the industry. “Like attracts like,” says Gee. “I recruited one, and after I hired them, the recruiter kept coming back to me; all came from the Tulane residency program.”
Gee believes the industry has changed since she began her practice, but not for the better. Instead, it’s become corporate — rushing through patients to meet a quota. “Back then, it didn’t feel like it was just about the numbers,” she says. “It was about enjoying seeing your patients.”
Gee doesn’t believe that health care exists in the state that it should, and she instructs people to get evaluated regularly. She’s on a mission to develop a system to provide preventive care, specifically for people of color, and encourages physicians to do the same.
“There is so much mistrust, and rightfully so,” says Gee. “As African Americans in this country, we’ve been unserved without the opportunity to get educated.”
Health disparities impose indirect costs on society, including lower worker productivity and losses from premature death. Gee asserts that corporate wellness is essential to providing a happier workforce.
As the founder and medical director of Willowbend Health & Wellness, a functional and integrative medical practice in Plano, Texas, Gee now also provides integrative health services to men, women and adolescents. She utilizes functional medicine principles to uncover the root causes of disease and offers alternatives to conventional treatment options.
“Your genes don’t determine who you are, but they do determine who you have the potential to become, good or bad,” says Gee. “It is our lifestyle, diet, habits and mindset that determine who we become.”
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