Doctor left rosy career to start S’pore’s first dedicated clinic for intellectual disabilities

In 2026, it plans to launch three new services in palliative care, dementia care and preventive health.

In preventive health, the aim is to teach people with ID and their caregivers how to stay healthy to stave off illnesses.

Dr Chen’s journey into this field began when she was just 17, during a volunteering stint at MINDS, a social service agency serving people with ID and their families. She still remembers the fear she felt during her first session.

“They look, sound and behave differently, and I thought I’m not coming back,” she said. “But towards the end, a strange emotion overcame me. I felt very touched, and decided to try again for one more week.”

She ended up volunteering at MINDS every Sunday for the next six years. In those years, she grew close to many children and their families.

In 2010, while working as a doctor, she started organising health screening for people with ID as a volunteer with various social service agencies.

What she uncovered disturbed her: Many of their health problems were poorly addressed.

The problem, she said, is that patients with ID often have multiple co-existing conditions, such as anxiety, depression, epilepsy, reflux and mobility problems, but may not be able to communicate their pain or symptoms.

Instead, they may express their discomfort through shouting or agitation, which can be mistaken for behavioural problems.

Doctors may give them sedatives to calm them, but the underlying issues often go undiagnosed or untreated, she said.

This convinced her that a specialised and holistic model of care – one that looks at the patient’s mental and physical health as a whole, instead of just specific body parts – was urgently needed for people with ID.

Almost everyone Dr Chen knew discouraged her from abandoning a stable career for an uncertain cause. She had been firmly on track to specialise in kidney medicine.

Her family’s financial background made the leap into the unknown even harder. 

Dr Chen, the second of five children, said her father’s construction company collapsed when she was in medical school at the National University of Singapore.

“My pay cheques went towards helping to support my family,” she said. “We were very financially challenged, and it was not easy to make the decision to leave my job. But I felt I wouldn’t starve. I can live simply and still support my family.”

Her attempts to persuade government agencies, philanthropic groups and other organisations to set up the dedicated healthcare service for people with ID went nowhere.

“Every door shut in my face,” she said.

Still, she received at least one call a week from MINDS and other social service agencies, asking her to see patients in their homes. She charged families whatever they could afford – sometimes nothing at all.

“When they couldn’t afford to pay, they would give me food and drinks,” she said. “Even if I left with zero dollars, I left with a full heart, knowing I have done something for someone.”

After years of helping families one at a time, and getting doors repeatedly shut in her face, she decided she had to build the dedicated healthcare service for patients with ID herself. 

So she learnt from scratch how to raise funds, run a charity, build a team and manage finances.

“Happee” is spelled with a double “e” as a playful nod to her husband’s surname – a tribute to his unwavering support throughout her journey. Dr Chen is married to fellow doctor Liam Pee, and they have a nine-year-old son.

Ms Jamila Mustaffa, 62, said Dr Chen has been treating her 95-year-old grandmother, 69-year-old uncle and 75-year-old aunt for over a decade.

All three have intellectual disabilities along with conditions such as diabetes, vision problem and mobility issues. Their primary caregiver is Ms Jamila’s 79-year-old mother.

Many caregivers like her mother struggle to keep up with the multiple medical appointments across different specialists for their loved ones and are overwhelmed by caregiving demands, said Ms Jamila.

Happee Hearts has been a lifeline for them, she added, as it provides care that is tailored to the needs of each patient and supports their caregivers.

She added: “Dr Chen is an exceptional doctor – highly skilled, compassionate and deeply committed to persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.

“She not only provides medical care but also takes the time to understand the emotional and mental struggles caregivers face. She builds genuine relationships with her patients. She makes them feel safe, valued and understood.”