Fair Oaks Women's Health

History of FOWH

Fair Oaks Women’s Health is Pasadena’s Premier Ob/Gyn group practice, right next door to Huntington Hospital. We offer comprehensive and convenient women’s healthcare. Our obstetrical services include everything from routine prenatal care to high-risk pregnancy care (with our own ultrasound department, NST testing, and lab collection station on the premises). Our wide range of gynecology services includes well-woman exams, pap smears with HPV testing, minimally invasive gyn surgery (such as laparoscopic hysterectomy), abnormal pap smear evaluation and management, birth control including IUD’s and Nexplanon, STI (sexually transmitted infection) evaluations, menopause and hormone evaluations and treatments, fertility testing and much, much more.

Our practice was founded in 1983 by two physicians, Dr. Warren Nagata and Dr. Marc Lebed. They became partners and soon became the best of friends.

Dr. Bryan Jick was hired by these two incredible physicians in 1989. This is also when Dr. Jick hired Diane Guerrero – his first employee. Diane started as an RN and later became a Nurse Practitioner. Note that in 2020, Diane has retired.

When Dr. Nagata suddenly and tragically passed away in late ’89, Dr. Jick was honored to help Dr. Lebed take care of Dr. Nagata’s patients. They soon became partners and good friends as well, working together until 1995, when Dr. Lebed suffered a severe sports injury forcing him to retire from his career as a perinatologist. Thus, Dr. Jick became a solo Ob/Gyn physician in 1995. Dr. Lebed relocated to the Pismo Beach area, where he still lives and Dr. Lebed and Dr. Jick remain friends to this day.

In 1996, Dr. Jick joined an Ob/Gyn group run by Dr. Charles Broberg (of blessed memory). He began seeing HMO patients, and he became very busy — too busy to spend the time with his patients that he felt they deserved. By the end of 1999, Dr. Jick decided that he needed to leave the HMO world. He sent letters to his patients and on January 3, 2000, he opened up his own solo practice with just 5 employees and he was busy from the start!

Later that year, Dr. Merrill Lewen joined his practice and they worked together until 2005, when Dr. Lewen moved to Houston, Texas when her husband, Dr. Laurence Cooper, was offered a position at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Jennie Chang joined Dr. Jick in 2006 just after completing her residency at the LAC-USC School of Medicine. When Dr. Jick and Dr. Chang moved to their present location in August 2009, Dr. Jennifer Park joined them — and Fair Oaks Women’s Health was formed.

At the end of 2011, Dr. Chang left Fair Oaks Women’s Health and in January 2012, Dr. Della Fong, a Board-Certified Ob/Gyn, moved her practice from Arcadia – where she had a busy and successful private practice for 10 years – and joined Fair Oaks Women’s Health. By December 2012, our practice had 3 physicians and 14 staff members. We then added about 1,200 square feet to our office, creating the “South Wing” area where Dr. Fong sees her patients.

In early 2013, we realized that we were busy enough to recruit a 4th ob/gyn doctor. We reviewed dozens of applications, but when we met Dr. Michael Mitri, we knew that we had found the right person to join our group!

In 2016 Fair Oaks Women’s Health expanded again, adding 2,000 square feet of space and we brought in a 5th Ob/Gyn physician, Dr. Joanna Woo. Then in 2018, we welcomed Dr. Kristin Engorn as our 6th Ob/Gyn Physician. However in late 2019, Dr. Engorn and her physician husband relocated to San Diego where he accepted a prestigious position at the Rady Children’s Hospital.

In November 2019, Mandy Littlefield, RN, FNP joined us as our second Nurse Practitioner but when Diane retired in 2020, Mandy became our only NP.

In 2020, we added our 6th Ob/Gyn physician, Dr. Kim Bui. She is outgoing, full of enthusiasm, cheerful, and an excellent Ob/Gyn physician. We are so happy that she has joined Fair Oaks Women’s Health.

In late 2020, Dr. Jick has announced that as of October 2021, his practice will transition to Gyn only. Read his letter here.

Fair Oaks Women’s Health continues to grow, and we could not have done this without our patients! You are the reason for the success of our group. Thank you for trusting us with your women’s healthcare, your prenatal care and the delivery of your precious sweet babies.