SJMS PHYSICIANS SHARE PASSION PROJECTS

Experience is rewarding for both volunteers and recipients

By Jo Ann Kirby

Volunteering has helped revive a passion for medicine while injecting some much needed expertise, money, medical supplies and patient care into projects near and far for some very giving San Joaquin County physicians.

These medical professionals have found some unique and inspiring ways to share their talents in their limited spare time.

Whether it’s mentoring students, serving as a high school varsity team doctor, caring for cleft-palate surgery patients, collecting medical equipment for a village in India or teaching life- saving trauma surgery techniques in a warzone, our physicians are filling a great need.

Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, M.D., is a surgeon specializing in trauma and critical care. He serves as the program director for San Joaquin General Hospital’s general surgery department and is heading to back Ukraine for a two-week deployment in March with the International Medical Corps where he teaches courses in the fundamentals of Advanced Trauma Life Support to doctors there. It will be his second trip to the country that has been fighting a brutal invasion from Russia, which has killed tens of thousands while leaving even more with complex injuries.

“What I like to say about working abroad is that it recharges my moral batteries. The environment you go into and the people you meet, they are really surprised that you care enough to be there, and they are so grateful,” Dr. Sidwha said.

He has served on medical missions to Haiti, southern Zimbabwe and the Palestinian territories where he was shocked by the pain tolerance of a population numb to suffering. American trauma surgeons in urban cities plagued by gun violence have a vast amount of experience that can translate to the battlefield, said Dr. Sidwha. The war in Ukraine is creating an increasingly desperate situation where physicians from all specialties, who might not be accustomed to trauma care, are having to learn that every second counts when it comes to stopping the bleed.

“I was worried they might think who are these random people coming in here?

Dr. Punnam led effort to send

medical supplies to India

But when we finished the course, there was this older man who was probably the most experienced guy there and he hadn’t said anything during the entire course,” Dr. Sidhwa said of his last mission to Ukraine. “Then he got up and spoke, and he said he didn’t realize there is this whole world of stuff that needs to happen before the patient even gets to the operating room.”

Dr. Sidwha and other physicians who have served on medical missions said there is a certain kind of freedom in the experience. “Stop thinking of it as giving back and start thinking of it as the purest practice of medicine that exists. No insurance companies, no hospital admins, just you, whatever resources you can muster, and sick people to take care of,” he said. “It’s a very different environment.”

Pediatrician Janwyn Loy Funamura, M.D served on a dozen medical missions throughout her career, with nonprofits such as Alliance for Smiles. She helped provide pre- and post- operative care to patients undergoing cleft palate surgery, sometimes in far-flung locations such as Ghana where it had been years since such repairs were available to the population. “Most of the patients were young, but sometimes there would be an older patient and they were able to communicate how they had lived with this their entire life,” she said of the transformative surgery a cleft palate repair can make. “ It was very eye opening to me.”

Most of her missions were spent in China, which sparked a desire in the fourth- generation Chinese-American to learn more about her family heritage. Recently retired, she’s looking into her family tree.

Sutter Health cardiologist, Dr Sujeeth R. Punnam helped doctors in India care for Covid patients when there was an acute supply shortage. He raised $500,000 and coordinated $3 million in care with the help of other Indian physicians in the U.S. to send help to underserved communities in India. “We needed about 1,500 (oxygen concentrators) and only 1,000 were available. I was able to motivate a group of people from all over the U.S. to source some,” Dr. Punman said. Those were shipped from SFO to India. “Then we delivered 100 ventilators and 100 high flow nasal canula machines to 48 hospitals in 18 states of India through AAPI. All these are nonprofit hospitals or government hospitals taking care of patients for free,” he said.

Some physicians find ways to help closer to home and are mentoring the next generation. Dr. Kelly Savage, an internist with Kaiser Permanente, has found guiding young people gives her a new perspective on her calling as a doctor. As the incoming chair of Bridge to Medicine, the San Joaquin Medical Society’s program to help mentor high school and college students interested in medicine, she encourages more physicians to get involved, especially younger doctors who are more familiar with today’s path to medical school and beyond. “Students, especially those who don’t have any physicians in their family, can be very intimidated by doctors and the whole process,” she said. “I share my story and then they feel like they can do it.”

She also launched Student Athletes in Medicine at University of the Pacific. As a former college swimmer and water polo player, she knows the time demands these student athletes have. “We started this so we could help some of the athletes mainly because I know how it felt to be in season and not have time for much of anything. We would schedule volunteer opportunities and research possibilities for them in their off season,” she said.

At Saint Mary’s High School in Stockton, Dr. Roland Winter and his wife Kristin, were the major benefactors of a brand-new track and a treatment room. Dr. Winter, of Alpine Orthopaedic Medical Group; Spine Center, has served for more than 27 years as the school’s varsity football team doctor and helps conduct sports physicals at the campus for student athletes. “It’s fun interacting with the kids. The young men on the football team are very respectful and it’s been great to get to know them and to interact with their families,” Winter, who is also vice-chair of the school’s board of trustees. “I do like giving back to the community and a lot of parents have told me they are glad I’m on the sidelines.”

Dr. Winter has been able to stabilize broken bones and has relocated dislocated joints. He, too, is glad he’s on the sidelines, especially when there are serious injuries such as one that happened some years ago when the son of the visiting team’s coach was playing and suffered a broken neck. “He couldn’t feel his arms and legs,” he said, adding that the player made a full recovery and was playing baseball by spring.

Winter and his practice are also team doctors for athletics at University of the Pacific and Dr. Winter serves as the medical director for the university’s masters program in sports medicine. Other physicians are combining altruism with their fitness routine. Dr. Vicente Santiago, a sleep specialist with Kaiser Permanente and a veteran of two dozen marathons, is running the Boston Marathon in a team of four runners while raising money for Wake Up Narcolepsy. ” I am following a training program that emphasizes running in hills and also progressively longer runs on weekends (because the) Boston Marathon has a hilly course,” he said. “My personal goal is $10,000 to help this great foundation which in turn helps patients locally and worldwide.”

Those who are on the receiving end from the generosity of our medical community say it doesn’t go unnoticed. “Our track was all torn up and we couldn’t even host our own track and field meets,” St. Mary’s Athletic Director Adam Lichter, said. “Their generosity is the reason we have a new track. We are unbelievably blessed by their support. Having Dr. Winter on the sidelines during football games alongside our trainer is so reassuring to our athletes. Football can be a violent sport and having him there to do an initial assessment along with our trainer is very comforting.”

Giving back to the community, whether near or far, can be a win-win and those who are going the extra mile say the need is great. But so are the rewards. “You can kind of get burned out sometimes, especially during the pandemic,” Dr. Savage said. “It’s just been really refreshing to be around these young people. They are really intelligent, and they are very cool. I really want to help more underserved students who don’t have access to mentors.”

Calling All Mentors!

Do you worry about who will take care of your patients when you retire? Do you want a meaningful way to give back to your community? If so, look no further! SJMS is currently recruiting volunteers to join our Bridge to Medicine (BTM) committee. BTM guides high-achieving, high school and college students who are committed to pursuing a career in medicine, along their academic journey so that they have the best chance of being accepted to medical school and ultimately returning to practice in our community.

The committee meets approximately every other month at SJMS and consists of physicians (working & retired), alliance members and even a local professor. Most importantly, you don’t need to be an expert! We have committee members with a wide array of skill sets and resources, so you are never alone. For more information please contact Lisa Richmond at 952-5299 or Lisa@sjcms.org