OPERATION ACCESS:
LOCAL MEDICAL VOLUNTEERISM AT ITS FINEST Ali Balick Luis had been healthy for most of his life, but began experiencing painful gastrointestinal distress at the age of 47. Originally from Costa Rica, Luis has worked and lived in Marin for many years. Uninsured due to his immigration status, Luis was concerned about the potential cost of care he might need. He visited his local community health center Marin Community Clinics (MCC) in San Rafael for help. After evaluating Luis’s symptoms and test results, his primary care provider at MCC, Frank Tool, FNP, referred him to Operation Access, a Northern California nonprofit, for a colonoscopy. Luis was so happy when he learned that he qualified and his colonoscopy would be donated. Operation Access matched Luis with Dr. Natalie Lee from Marin Gastroenterology and the Endoscopy Center of Marin (ECM). As Luis’s procedure day came closer, he experienced a mix of thoughts and emotions. He was ready to get the screening but he was also sad, nervous, and couldn’t stop thinking about his father who had died two years earlier from colon cancer. Luis knew that getting this colonoscopy was very important. Prior to his procedure, Luis carefully followed the prep instructions and showed up early to ECM with his best friend the morning of his procedure. Dr. Natalie Lee and staff were able to calm his nerves and prepped him for his colonoscopy. During the procedure, Dr. Lee removed two polyps for biopsy. Luis was relieved to learn a short time later that the biopsy did not indicate colon cancer. Access to surgical and specialty care is vital to the health of our community, but many low-income people either do not qualify for, or cannot afford, health insurance. Operation Access provides a solution by coordinating care for uninsured people who need it. They match medical professionals who donate their time and expertise with patients referred from community clinics. This medical volunteerism works to restore health and prevent emergency room visits, and OA’s culturally sensitive and multilingual staff members provide medical volunteers with efficient logistical support to enable them to provide this care. Operation Access coordinates care in a wide variety of specialties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and is seeking volunteers as it expands to many other communities in Northern California. Colonoscopy is the most common procedure coordinated by Operation Access. Their patients exhibit above-average risk, such as having found blood in the stool from a positive FIT test. WWW.SFMMS.ORG
Colon cancer screening rates across all communities have been impacted by COVID, but OA staff are working with patients and their volunteer partners to provide a safe environment for screening to continue despite the virus. While the need for services in Marin County is high, the strain on health care providers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily disrupted referral volume to Operation Access as potential patients have deferred nonemergency care. Referrals for 2020 are projected to be 21% lower than 2019. The pandemic has also reduced the service capacity of many specialist volunteers. OA leverages a large and diverse network of partner hospitals and surgery centers to overcome these limitations, but, by year-end, they anticipate service volume will be lower and wait times higher than anticipated at the outset of 2020. Staff are focused on triaging urgent procedures and serving patients at highest risk of colon cancer. Marin Gastro/ECM specialists Dr. Timothy Sowerby, Dr. Ripple Sharma, Dr. Natalie Lee, Dr. Vikram Malladi, Dr. Christopher Hogan and other staff members have consistently demonstrated their dedication to serving local community members through Operation Access. The ECM team was awarded the All Hands on Deck Award in 2019 for their amazing teamwork and commitment to providing important GI diagnostic screenings throughout the year and during annual Super-GI session events. In 2019 and 2020, they provided record-breaking numbers of GI screenings in a single day through Operation Access- 22 and 24 total procedures respectively! Thanks to Dr. Lee and the ECM staff, patients like Luis have access to the care they need. He now feels happy and relieved, no longer worried he has cancer. He knows that in five years he will need another screening due to his family history and symptoms, but now he is less fearful of the future knowing there are programs like Operation Access and people like Dr. Lee who want to help others. Luis stated, "My sincere thanks to all who worked hard to help me. Infinite thanks. May God bless you. Keep working hard to help those most in need in our community. Thank you and ‘pura vida’ to all!” If you are interested in learning more or getting involved with Operation Access, please contact Elise Hilsinger, Marin Program Manager, at elise@operationaccess.org or Dennise Garcia, San Francisco Program Manager, at dennise@operationaccess.org. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
SAN FRANCISCO MARIN MEDICINE
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