These were the words of Bina Patel, MD, who introduced the new baby of one of her female patients to me in an exam room. To another family physician, these words are magical, and the way that Bina smiled when she said them was an instant reminder to me of why family medicine is so special. We live to take care of whole families and their communities, and a lot of pride comes from being able to be there for all of them.
This is part 1. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow, in the interest of readability.
From La Clínica’s Web site:
La Clínica has played an important role in the East Bay by offering low-cost quality health care services for multilingual and multicultural populations at 23 locations in three counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano counties, with many of our patients served in the City of Oakland. La Clínica’s comprehensive services include: pediatrics, family medicine, women’s health care, mental health services, dental and vision care, and health education. We offer these services regardless of people’s ability to pay or insurance coverage.
To most effectively serve the diverse community of the East Bay, La Clínica hires health practitioners who fluently speak Spanish, English, Chinese, as well as Hindi, Arabic, and Amharic. We also make a concerted effort to recruit doctors, nurses, health educators and other providers who come from the same cultures as our patients.
The commitment to supporting the community with providers that reflect its own culture was very evident when I was invited for a visit. What was also evident when I entered the facility was the amount of care that was being provided – a lot. There was what I would say was a level of activity I had not encountered at Kaiser Permanente or John Muir Health – a “buzz.” It was reflected all the way into provider workspaces, which are shared.
On the day I attended, there was a bit of what I called a “cake explosion,” with the staff celebrating a colleague’s birthday. I had to include pictures here, and especially one of the slice plated on a fraction of a plate – this organization is concerned with affordability all the way down to their celebrations! Kidding aside, the way the staff celebrated each other on the day I visited was impressive.
Pictures: Click on any to see full size
The practices
