| LACHC Thanks... |  | Dr. Dina Brent
Dr. Dina Brent and George Hernandez who organized a Back to School and Sports Physicals event at our Pico Aliso clinic.
They provided exams and immunizations as well as
nutritious snacks and school supplies to 13 children and adolescents.
 Thank you to their team:
Dr. Channing Frykman,
Esteban Sarabia,
Karina Del Cid, Joanna Galaz, Andrea Palmer, Elizabeth Miranda-Muro, Tia Weinberg and Hannah & Sarah Brent. |
Wayne's World
Tip #2
Can't Sleep??? |  | Follow a "wind down" routine each and every night and wake up at the same hour. You will condition your body to fall asleep.
National Sleep Foundation
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Welcome to the Los Angeles Christian Health Centers' e-Newsletter. In this issue, we cover the clinic's campaign to raise awareness regarding the millions of people who are uninsured and the effects of the State budget cuts on those in need. We also highlight the success and future plans of our Mental Health Department.
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| 1st Annual March for the Uninsured
Celebrating National Health Center Week
In honor of National Community Health Center week, on Saturday, August 15th, LACHC staff, Board members, patients, donors and other stakeholders marched from our Skid Row clinic to our Boyle Heights clinic to demonstrate our commitment and service to the uninsured and underinsured residents of Los Angeles.
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From Homeless to Housed...
A Social Work Success Story!
 At his initial LACHC medical visit, Rigoberto received medical care for his many health problems, including a history of stroke, diabetes, and partial foot amputation. In addition, Rigoberto was referred to a social worker for assistance with housing. When Rigoberto first met Gina Jones, MSW (a LACHC Social Worker), he was homeless, without identification, income or contact with his family and using a manual wheelchair. Before Rigoberto could apply for housing, he first needed identification. During the process of obtaining his identification, he was reunited with his brother in San Diego. Five months later, after much assistance from Ms. Jones navigating the housing process, Rigoberto moved into his own room (permanent housing) in subsidized housing. Ms. Jones also assisted with acquiring an electric wheelchair and submitting an application for disability benefits. When his application for disability benefits was denied, Ms. Jones linked him with a lawyer through Bet Tzedeck Legal Services. In Feb 2009, Rigoberto had his court hearing re: disability benefits and is awaiting a decision from the court. Rigoberto continues to receive medical, mental health, and social work services from LACHC.
Rigoberto is just one of many individuals the mental health team has engaged. In just three years, the team has provided 3,863 case management visits and 1,017 mental health, therapy sessions.
Now, thanks in part to federal stimulus funding, our mental health department is expanding. September 2009 inaugurates our first class of doctoral graduate students in clinical psychology and marriage and family therapy. Five students from four local graduate schools will support our services to the homeless and uninsured. Under the supervision of our Mental Health Director, they will serve at Joshua House, Pico Aliso, and 3 of our medical outreach sites. They will be trained to provide behavioral and psychological interventions for chronic disease management, such as diabetes, as well as psychotherapy interventions for depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol recovery, and stress management. |
| Got healthcare? The state of healthcare for the underserved and vulnerable in California just got worse! At a time when the number of unemployed and uninsured is growing by an alarming rate (unemployment in LA County has reached almost 12%) the health services provided by the state have been slashed. Healthy Families, which insures poor children, was drastically reduced and over 55,000 children are now on a waiting list! Early Access to Primary Care program, which provides reimbursement to clinics for uncompensated visits by the uninsured, was cut by 65%! MediCal dental and other important services were eliminated! All of these cuts are felt deeply by our clinic, and we have had to make cuts to services and staff. We need your help now more than ever! Please help us help those who need it most by donating your time, money, or gifts-in-kind. We are now enrolled in the Cars4Causes program so you can donate a car, motorcycle, RV or boat and we will receive 70% of the proceeds! God will bless whatever you give! Sincerely, Susan K. Fuentes
President and CEO
In order to have more - desire less. ~Anonymous |
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