Friday, December 14, 2007

2007 Holiday Party




Last night the staff and Board of Directors of the Free Clinic of Simi Valley celebrated the holidays and the end of a great year. Approximately 40 people representing all four programs and the Board of Directors attended the party held at the Senor Gomez Restaurant. Above are a few snapshots from the evening. Phyllis and Chas Wilson, Dennis Harvey along with Ron Whiteman, Kurt and Kristy Fredrickson with Ron and his guest Diane and Fred Bauermeister and Becca Merrell.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Barbara and Marvin

December 12, 2007

To Whom it May Concern;


This is to let you know how satisfied (Marvin Banks& Barbara Banks) are with the Free Clinic of Simi Valley - Dental Clinic. We are both senior citizens and without these wonderful people (Dr. Graves, Citlali and Olga, we would not be able to get any dental work done. These people are so caring and treat everyone with respect. Marvin & I cannot afford to have dental work done, so without the help of the clinic we would be without dental care or greatly in debt. Dr. Graves is wonderful she pulled a tooth and in all my years and dental experience I have had before this was the first time I felt no pain during or after the tooth was pulled. (I have had many teeth pulled No Upper teeth Left at all) The care before and after was amazing. And my husband said the cleaning he got was the best he has ever had. The kindness of the people working at the Dental Clinic cannot be repaid in anyway but to thank them. Making appointments is great Olga takes the time to really help you and cares enough to call to let you know that you have an appointment. Being seniors this is a great help. Again we. would like to thank all of the people at the Free Clinic for their help and support.

Thank you,


Barbara & Marvin Banks

Friday, November 30, 2007

Julie Sorensen - Chiropractor


The Free Clinic is delighted to announce that Julie Sorensen has joined the volunteer staff of the Free Clinic. Dr. Sorensen is a chiropractor and she has begun volunteering on Thursday evenings following the general medical clinic. Julie has an office at the corner of Cochran and Sycamore here in Simi Valley.

Friday, November 16, 2007

New Type of Medical Service

After the Thanksgiving holiday the Free Clinic will enter into a completely new and unprecedented venture with our friends at Kaiser. Beginning in two weeks, a resident pharmacist will see patients at the Free Clinic. Sound unusual? Well it is.

A resident pharmacist can see patients under the same types of protocols as a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant. The specially trained pharmacist, under the direct supervision of specifically credentialed pharmacist, can meet with a patient, monitor their medications, order follow-up lab tests and change the dosage or even the type of medication being administered.

The way it will work is a patient must first be seen by a physician for something like high cholesterol, diabetes or hypertension. The physician will order lab tests and prescribe a treatment plan for the patient. Then the resident pharmacist will meet with the patient to follow-up their progress and modify the patient’s treatment as it relates to their diagnosed illness. This is a brand new type of healthcare service and although common to some Kaiser patients, it will be among the first times this type of service is offered in a community clinic setting in California.



Monday, November 5, 2007

Make A Difference Day 2007




On Saturday October 27th the Free Clinic held our annual 'Make A Difference Day' at our Dental and Medical Clinics. These photographs are from the Dental Clinic at which we provided direct services to 63 people of all ages. In addition to our five operatories we arranged for the Dental Van to be parked out front to provide us with two more operatories. Olga and her team did a great job.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

California Wellness Foundation


Fred Bauermeister was awarded the California Wellness Foundation’s Leadership Award. The award includes at grant which will allow Fred to take a three month sabbatical and provide training for the Board of Directors. The purpose of the grant is to help key executives in the health care profession rejuvenate, relax and return to their job refreshed. It also gives health care organizations the opportunity to strengthen and review policies and procedures.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

2007 Gala and SPIRIT Award Dinner

Mr. Peter Kiesecker was the winner of the 2007 SPIRIT Award. Each Year the Free Clinic selects a member of the community to honor for their contributions made to the Simi Valley community and the Free Clinic. Mr. Kiesecker has long been a supporter of the Free Clinic and we were very pleased to honor him.

Assembly member Cameron Smyth was the honorary Chair of the 2007 Gala and SPIRIT Award Dinner.
Mayor Paul Miller enjoying the evening with his wife Connie. Over 140 individuals attended the gala on October 27th which raised over $40,000 for the Free Clinic.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Kaiser Physicans

Above is a photograph of Dr. Monica Tantraphol, Dr. Kevin Haggerty, Dr. Munira Husain and Dr Michael Tran all from Kaiser. Dr. Haggerty and Dr. Husain are doing their electives at the Free Clinic for the next few weeks. In other words, in addition to the Kaiser physicians being at the Free Clinic all day Thursdays, some have chosen to work additional days as an elective. Today was the first of those days. The Kaiser residents under the direct supervision of Dr. Tantraphol began this morning at 10:30 a.m. Dr. Tran, who has been a regular volunteer at the Clinic for the past three years, then began seeing patients today at 2:00 p.m. Dr. Tran along with Haggerty and Tantraphol attended the Gala on Saturday night.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Dr. Puneet Gupta




This afternoon, Maggie Kestley, (Vice-President, Free Clinic of Simi Valley Board of Directors) brought Dr. Puneet Gupta by our Dental Program for a tour. Dr. Gupta is a dentist from India visiting the area as part of a program sponsored by Rotary Clubs International. Maggie is the incoming President of the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise which is the local Rotray Club hosting Dr. Gupta's visit. It was a pleasure showing him our clinic and learning about dental care in India.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Annie Zhang

Remember Annie? She was the student that graduated from Thousand Oaks High School as the class valedictorian and then was accepted at Harvard University. In her 3rd year there, she applied for and was accepted into an internship program for future physicians. Harvard paid her to work 10 hours a week here at the Free Clinic during the summer to get experience in clinical medicine. She applied and was accepted again in her fourth year.

Following graduation, summa cum laude, she spent the next summer in London England studying. Then she chose to attend UCLA School of Medicine where she is expected to graduate in 2010. Annie is an accomplished violinist, singer and poet. She stopped by the Free Clinic tonight to pick-up a letter of assessment from me to be included in her application to be a Rhodes Scholar!

GO ANNIE!!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Simi Valley Town Center


Thanks to our friends at the Simi Valley Town Center http://www.simivalleytc.com/ it is now easier to donate to the Free Clinic. Simply toss your spare change in the Koi Pond on the West end of the Town Center near Macy’s. Once a month, the folks at the Town Center will gather the change along with items not claimed in the Lost-and-Found and donate them to the Free Clinic. Please try not to hit the Koi!

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Dental Implant

On Friday Dr Kleiger placed a cap on the tooth of a patient in our Dental Program. The cap was made at the Simi Valley Adult School Dental Technology Program located next door to our Dental Clinic. It is a great example of volunteers from the community working together with the school and the Free Clinic for the betterment of the patient.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Dessire Puz

Dessire Puz is a dentist from Australia and Canada. She hopes to get licensed here in the United States as well. She is seen here assisting Dr. Graves in preparing a mold of a patients teeth in order to make a partial implant. This service is offered in cooperation with the Simi Valley Adult School Dental Technology Program.

Monday, August 20, 2007

New Patio Cover




On Sunday August 19th, Boy Scout Michael Foster and his team of fellow boy scouts and adult assistants, including his dad and grandfather, completed the construction of our new patio cover. The patio cover is located in the play yard on the north side of our building and will provide much needed shade. The Free Clinic - Family Counseling Program provides counseling to children suffering from various forms of abuse. The play yard is a safe, outdoor area, where children can build, paint, run, throw and yell if needed, all under the careful supervision of a trained therapist. Thanks to Michael and his team, our children will have a shady area in which to work.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Kaiser and the Free Clinic

Today was another landmark day in the history of the Free Clinic of Simi Valley. Today was the first day of what hopefully will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship between the Free Clinic and Kaiser and the UCLA residency program and the patients we serve. Today Dr. Tantraphol and four third year residents saw 16 patients. A reporter from the Ventura County Star along with a photographer were also here to do a story which will appear in Saturday's Star newspaper. By all accounts everything went great.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Maureen Kaye

The Free Clinic of Simi Valley - Family Counseling Program is pleased to congratulate Maureen Kaye on becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. On Saturday August 11, Maureen completed the second of the two written tests which are the final part of a very long process which includes 3,000 hours of supervised training. Maureen will make a fine member of the therapeutic community. CONGRATULATIONS!

Friday, August 3, 2007

Dr Tantraphol & Sean

Kaiser physician Monica Tantraphol mentors Free Clinic volunteer Sean Shen during todays medical clinic. Sean is a recent graduate of U.C. Berkeley and is volunteering at the Clinic to get some experience prior to attending medical school in the spring of 2008. The Free Clinic has a long history of providing mentoring to future doctors.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Wikipedia and the Free Clinic

Wikipedia (wikiˈpiːdi.ə/ or /ˌwɪkiˈpiːdi.ə/) is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project. Wikipedia is written by volunteers from all around the world. The name Wikipedia is a portmanteau of the words wiki(a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia. Since its creation in 2001, Wikipedia has become a very popular online source for information on almost every topic. Many people are familiar with it especially if you have children in school. We recently discovered that Wikipedia had no definition for a Free Clinic so we wrote one and here is a link to it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_clinic

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Kaiser Gives $30,000


Our friends at Kaiser came through once again with a check for $30,000 this time in support of our Family Counseling Program. Kaiser is supports many worthwhile organizations in the community and we are proud to be one of them.

Peter Kiesecker, Friend of the Free Clinic

Meet Peter Kiesecker this years recipient of the Spirit Award at the Free Clinic Gala to be held on Saturday October 27th at the Ronald Reagan Library. Peter is president of a development company and a generous supporter of the Free Clinic.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Dr. Tantraphol from Kaiser

Monica Tantraphol, MD came to the Clinic last night to meet the staff and gather information on Clinic procedures. Dr. Tantraphol is from Kaiser and is involved the residency program offered there in conjunction with UCLA. The staff enjoyed getting to know her and showing her our Clinic.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Dr Rajpara

Dr. Rajpara is one of our seven dentists that regularly provide dental care at our Dental Clinic. Additionally the Clinic has five dental hygienists.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Eagle Scout Project Complete!


Scott Theophilou and fellow boy scouts completed the installation of a new storage shed in our children's play yard. The shed stores games and equipment used by children under care that are often victims of abuse. Thanks Scott!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Black Widow Filming

Recently the Free Clinic was used for a location in an upcoming TV movie called Black Widow. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley and is directed by Armand Mastroianni. Here is a link to more information about the film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046894/

Friday, June 22, 2007

Scott Theophilou's Eagle Project

Scott Theophilou has started his Eagle Project at the Free Clinic this week. Scott is replacing the storage shed in our play yard. The old one was damaged in the winds from last fall so he and his fellow troop members are pouring a cement slab and in a few days erecting a new sturdier shed. Thanks Scott!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Welcome to the Free Clinic of Simi Valley Blog!


Welcome our new blog. This offers me a chance to share news and information about our program, services and staff. Please include this blog in your favorite places and check it often for updates. I will try to include an update at least once a week. - Fred