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N. Romesh Wijesooriya, MD

N. Romesh Wijesooriya, MD

out of 5
94 Ratings
8 Comments

Specialty

Pediatric Weight Management / Healthy Lifestyles Center
General Pediatrics

Department

Pediatrics

Locations

Children's Pavilion

1000 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
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Healthy Lifestyles Center

2303 N. Parham Road, Suite 1
Richmond, VA 23229
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Education

Medical School

University of Virginia

Residency

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center

Biography

Romesh Wijesooriya is an Assistant Professor of General Pediatrics at CHoR. He has served as the Division Chair of General Pediatrics since 2014. Additionally, he serves as the Medical Director for the Pediatric Primary Care Clinic at CHoR, he is an Assistant Medical Director for Telehealth at VCUHS and is a founding Board Member of the Virginia Children's Care Network (VCCN).

Romesh received his BA in Religious Studies with a minor in Biology in 1999 from The University of Virginia where he was an Echol's Scholar and a Jefferson Scholar. After graduating, he spent one year working at a hospital and orphanage in Jos, Nigeria before returning to The University of Virginia for Medical School. He received his MD from UVA in 2004 and he completed his pediatric residency training at VCUHS in 2007. He served as Chief Resident for one year and subsequently joined the faculty of VCUHS in 2008. He has been board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics since 2007. Due to his interest in pediatric obesity, he pursued and received his certification from the American Board of Obesity Medicine in 2015. In 2016 he attended the Harvard Leadership Development Program for Physicians in Academic Health Centers.

During his time as the Division Chair, the Division of General Pediatrics has expanded from 14 pediatric providers (MDs and NPs) in 2014 to 22 providers (MDs and NPs) in 2020. Additionally, since 2014, the division has seen steady and clear year over year growth in patient volumes (76% increase in patient volumes over 7 years), profit margins, new program development, program expansion, research funding and activity, and educational activity. This clear growth in clinical, educational and research activity and productivity within the division has led to many members of the division Wijesooriya, Niran Romesh 11 of 13 being appointed to leadership roles and responsibilities at the institutional, local, regional and national levels.

Romesh maintains a primary focus on clinical care of patients in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. His special interests include medical education of residents and medical students, family-centered care, access to quality health care for patients and families who exist in lower socioeconomic environments, obesity in the pediatric population, and telehealth.

As a general pediatrician who has practiced medicine (and lives) in an urban, low-income, and under-resourced community since 2004, Romesh has had to grapple with the reality and challenges of health disparities for low-income communities. He has come to recognize that these disparities are generational and systemic in nature. Romesh is committed to improving health outcomes by changing the systems (medical, financial, educational, social, law enforcement, etc.) that have created and perpetuate these disparities.

Romesh has also developed a niche interest in Telehealth. In 2019 he was appointed as the Assistant Medical Director of Telehealth at VCUHS and has been part of the team that helped to manage a 5000% growth in telehealth volumes at VCUHS during the COVID-19 crisis. Romesh believes that telehealth if managed and appropriated and wisely, has a unique opportunity to enable health care to be more patient-centered, cost-effective, collaborative and accessible.

Romesh is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Obesity Society, and Alpha Omega Alpha. He has been recognized for his excellence as a medical educator on numerous occasions including being voted the "Best Teacher" in the Pediatric Clerkship on 2 separate occasions. He has received a number of different accolades for his clinical work including being named to Richmond Magazine's "Top Docs" list annually since 2012. While Romesh has primarily been recognized for his work as a clinician, a medical educator and a physician leader, he has also been able to partner with leading researchers on numerous research projects. He has been invited to collaborate on grant-funded research projects evaluating topics including pediatric obesity, medical education, telehealth, and maternal and infant microbiomes. The findings of these various research projects have been presented at national conferences and published in highly regarded peer review journals including Nature Medicine.

Throughout his career, Romesh has been actively involved in serving the Department of Pediatrics, the VCU School of Medicine, the VCU Health System and the University. He has served on a number of different committees since joining the VCUHS faculty in 2008. He has also repeatedly been invited to join strategic planning initiatives for the Department and the Health System. Most recently, he participated in CHoR Pediatric Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) Taskforce that resulted in the formation of the Virginia Children's Care Network (VCCN) in 2020. The VCCN is the first pediatric-focused CIN in central Virginia and the first CIN involving the VCU Health System. Romesh is currently serving as a founding board member for the VCCN.

Romesh is joyfully married to Lawson and they are the proud parents of 2 energetic Wijesooriya, Niran Romesh 12 of 13 boys. He lives in Church Hill in downtown Richmond. He has been and continues to be deeply committed to his neighborhood and the City of Richmond. He has participated and led a number of different community-based initiatives seeking to address economic and health disparities. From 2005 - 2015 he served as president of Urban Hope, an affordable housing non-profit in the city of Richmond committed to preserving affordable housing for economically challenged urban families in the City of Richmond. From 2011 - 2017 he served on the PTA committee overseeing the application and implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at the neighborhood elementary school (Chimborazo Elementary) that his children attended and recently graduated from. He is a founding member of East End Fellowship, a multi-ethnic, economically diverse Christian church located in the east end of Richmond that is committed to "seeking the welfare of the city".

Awards & Honors

  • Richmond Top Docs Award Winner for General Pediatrics: Annually from 2012 - 2020: Richmond Magazine. 3-4 general pediatricians in the Richmond area are selected by peers. 
  • Virginia Living's Magazine - Top Pediatrician Award 2018
  • Best Teacher Award for Pediatric Clerkship - 2018-2019: School Of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Award given to one pediatric faculty each year. Selected by 3rd year medical students at VCU.
  • Outstanding Teacher Award for Pediatric Clerkship - 2016-2017: School Of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Award given to a few pediatric faculty each year. Selected by 3rd year medical students at VCU.
  • AOA Faculty Inductee Award - 2012: School Of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Award given to one faculty each year by the medical students of VCU. 
  • Outstanding Teacher Award for Pediatric Clerkship - 2011-2012: School Of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Award given to a few pediatric faculty each year. Selected by 3rd year medical students at VCU. 
  • Best Teacher Award for Pediatric Clerkship - 2010-2011: School Of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Award given to one pediatric faculty each year. Selected by 3rd year medical students at VCU.
  • Outstanding Teacher Award for Pediatric Clerkship - 2008-2009: School Of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University. Award given to a few pediatric faculty each year. Selected by 3rd year medical students at VCU. 

Clinical Interests

General pediatrics; Telehealth; Obesity medicine; Health disparities; Medical education

Provider Videos

Ratings & Reviews

Dr. Wijesooriya provides exceptional care of our daughter and always puts us at ease.
February 2024
This guy is awesome. Super friendly, easy to work with, would totally recommend.
June 2023
Very friendly, attentive & helpful with any questions.
June 2023
Dr. Wijesooriya is the best!
March 2023
Excellent bed side manner and included my son in discussion of his health!
February 2023
Dr. Romesh is outstanding. We are so thankful for him.
March 2022
The Doctor Nixon always is very attentive & kind, answer all the concerns that I have had about the health of my kids.
March 2022
Dr. Wijesooriya is a wonderful provider. I feel like he cares about my family and his medical decision making process is respectful, informative, and in-line with our values in terms of wholistic health.
March 2022