Encounters Fall 2013

The semi-annual newsletter of

Winter 2013

Encounters A Ground’s Eye View of Health Reform

Plus: Charting the Future of Children’s Health and Wellness

Introducing Venice Family Clinic Board Chair William (Bill) Flumenbaum We are pleased to welcome Bill Flumenbaum as Chair of the Board of Directors of Venice Family Clinic. Elected by the Board, Mr. Flumenbaum began his term as Chair-Elect in 2012 and recently began serving as Chair.

Mr. Flumenbaum is a Senior Vice President and investment counselor for Capital Guardian Trust Company’s Personal Investment Management division and a Vice President of Capital Guardian Trust Company, a Nevada Corporation.

Prior to joining Capital Guardian Trust Company in 1998, he spent eight years with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as the Executive Director of the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, and subsequently as Director of Principal Gifts across the campus.

Prior to that, he spent two years as the Executive Director of the Children’s Health Fund in New York City and four years as the Director of Programs for Helen Keller International. Bill also spent ten years in international public health with a Swiss foundation.

“I’m excited to work with Venice Family Clinic CEO Liz Forer and her talented leadership team to help guide the clinic at this critical moment in history.

It’s not only a time of change and challenge, but also one of tremendous opportunity – and we believe the clinic will emerge stronger and better equipped to meet the needs of its patients.”

Mr. Flumenbaum earned an MA in — William (Bill) Flumenbaum educational psychology from the Venice Family Clinic Board Chair California State University, Hayward and a B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to serving on our Board of Directors he also serves on UCLA’s Board of Governors and the Health Advisory Board for the Bloomberg/Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He is also a member of the Board of Public Counsel.

Get Involved Today In addition to a volunteer Board of Directors, Venice Family Clinic relies on volunteers to deliver the quality care and services we provide every day. With more than 2,000 volunteers engaged, including 500 physicians, their time is valued at $2 million annually.

Our Volunteer Services department offers a variety of opportunities to get involved in nearly every aspect of the clinic’s operations. We match the interest and experience of our volunteers with the clinic’s needs and priorities in administration, fundraising, medical, and social services.

Regardless of how you choose to get involved, your effort helps provide quality care and services to those who need it the most.

To learn about ways you can help please visit our website at www.venicefamilyclinic.org or call 310.664.7532.

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Providing quality primary health care to people in need VENICE FAMILY CLINIC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

VENICE FAMILY CLINIC PHILANTHROPY BOARD

William Flumenbaum, Chair Brian D. Kan, MD, Immediate Past Chair Ashley Johnson, Secretary Jeffrey E. Sinaiko, Treasurer Mayer B. Davidson, MD Paula Davis Aime Espinosa Luis Galvez LoEtte Loshak Rich Markey Wendy Smith Meyer, PhD, LCSW Neil H. Parker, MD Bill Resnick, MD Paul Saben Flora M. Santacruz Stewart Seradsky Lourdes Servin Carmen Thomas-Paris Leisa Wu

Kathleen Aikenhead Lou Colen Marjorie Fasman Ruth Flinkman-Marandy Hilary & Robert Nelson Jacobs Glorya Kaufman Susanne & Paul Kester Shawn & Larry King Deborah Laub Susan Adelman & Claudio Llanos Chuck Lorre Laurie MacDonald Anita May Rosenstein Victoria & Ronald Simms Harriet & Richard Squire Eva Vollmer Billie Milam Weisman Sylvia Weisz Ruth Ziegler Marilyn Ziering Diane & Michael Ziering Janet & Jerry Zucker

VENICE FAMILY CLINIC FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Susan Adelman Carol L. Archie, MD Neal Baer, MD Rick Bradley Lowell C. Brown, Esq. David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD Mayer B. Davidson, MD Susan Fleischman, MD William Flumenbaum John R. Geresi Chester F. Griffiths, MD, FACS Jimmy H. Hara, MD Joan E. Herman Ashley Johnson Brian D. Kan, MD Deborah Laub Constance Lawton Lou Lazatin Harley Liker, MD, MBA Tracey Loeb Gail Margolis, Esq. Melissa R. Martinez Frank Matricardi, Dr PH Viren Mehta Wendy Smith Meyer, PhD, LCSW Jeff Nathanson William D. Parente Hutch Parker Neil H. Parker, MD Bill Resnick, MD Paul Saben Mike Sarian Fern Seizer Alan Sieroty Jeffrey E. Sinaiko Russel Tyner, AIA Michael S. Wilkes, MD, PhD Leisa Wu VENICE FAMILY CLINIC BOARD EMERITUS

Ruth Bloom Daniel Hillman, MD Joanne Jubelier, PhD Karl A. Keener, Esq. Ruth Moss Marsha Temple, Esq.

VENICE FAMILY CLINIC ADVISORY BOARD

Martin Anderson, MD, MPH Bernard Briskin Stan Chiu Henry G. Cisneros Lou Colen Noah Craft, MD, PhD Allison Diamant, MD Lucia Diaz Laddie John Dill Raymond Eden Leah Ellenberg, PhD Lila Garrett Allan Gordon Daniel Helberg Roseann Herman, Esq. Lee H. Hilborne, MD, MPH Douglas I. Jeffe Diedre Kelly-Gordon Mary D. Lane Barbara A. Levey, MD, FACP Julie Liker Connie Linn Al Markovitz, MD, FACP Dr. Lisa M. Masson Michael McClain Kelly Chapman Meyer Robert Moverley Charlotte Neumann, MD, MPH Chris O’Brien Regina Pally, MD Kenneth Ramberg Joyce Rey Brian K. Rosenstein Todd Stella Millie Sterz, RN, MPH Arthur Stickgold Carissa Tedesco Jill E. Thomas David Tillipman Matthew A. Toledo Carl Weissburg, Esq. Photos: Lauren Frick; Courtney Gero; Ben Gibbs; James Greiger; Jonathan Leibson; Margaret Molloy; John Salangsang; Elena Zhukova

Making House, School and Street Calls Meeting the needs of our community often means leaving the clinic and meeting our patients where they are – whether it is in their homes, schools or on the street. This year, dedication and collaboration with staff, donors and partners has given rise to programs that will help us continue to be agile and effective in the way we deliver care.

Leonard M. Lipman Diabetes Management Program A small percentage of Venice Family Clinic’s patients with diabetes are living with dangerously high blood glucose levels. A generous grant from the Leonard M. Lipman Charitable Fund aims to change that for good. The Fund supports the work of two half-time nurse practitioners as they deliver personalized, one-on-one care through frequent visits, phone calls and emails to closely monitor the patient’s health and support adjustments to their daily routines.

The grant will also support our work to educate newly diagnosed diabetic patients and help them take control of their illness early. These program aspects, taken together, will equip patients with the tools, knowledge, and support to lead healthy lives.

Medtronic Venice Family Clinic has long offered patient education to newly-diagnosed diabetics and those at-risk. In the coming years, thanks to the long-term vision of the Medtronic Foundation, this program will be overhauled to do more for our patients.

Virtual Dental Home Using a portable dental chair, a laptop computer, a digital camera and a handheld X-ray machine, a dental hygienist from Venice Family Clinic provides oral health screenings to underserved children at schools and community centers.

Information about the child's oral health is uploaded and reviewed by a dentist based at the clinic who makes a diagnosis and develops a treatment plan.

The Medtronic Foundation will fund a collaboration between Venice Family Clinic and UCLA’s Division of Endocrinology to revise our diabetes self-management class curriculum so it meets the updated National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support. This revision will not only increase the effectiveness of our diabetes education program, but will support the program’s sustainability by allowing us to bill Medicare for patient attendance. The grant also funds one parttime health educator, allowing us to increase the frequency and availability of the classes in additional locations for both patients and community members.

To date more than 450 dental screenings have been provided to low-income and special needs children in Los Angeles County's Early Head Start and Head Start programs associated with Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District, Volunteers of America and Westside Children's Center. This innovative oral health care delivery system was created by the University of the Pacific’s, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry and is funded

by First 5 LA. Learn more at: http://www.first5la.org/articles/service-witha-smile

Venice Family Clinic Merges With Common Ground For more than two decades, Venice Family Clinic has partnered with a local organization called Common Ground to connect people living with HIV/AIDS to life-saving medical care, mental health and case management services.

When we learned last year that federal funding changes might close Common Ground’s doors, we had to act. This month, Venice Family Clinic will finalize its merger with Common Ground, ensuring a healthy future for our community’s only program supporting low-income and homeless people living with HIV/AIDS. 3

A Ground’s Eye View of

Health Reform We asked our staff of 15 health insurance enrollment specialists the question, “What has been the most pleasant surprise about helping to implement health reform?” Here is what a few of our team members had to say: “I like the experience of being able to help people. I enjoy taking the stress that they are feeling and turning it into something positive.“ Pattie Lopez “How easy it is for patients to compare choices,“ Lorena Mendez “I think the most pleasant surprise about the ACA and Covered CA is how many different ways it can (and will!) help so many different people.“ Yael Sherne “I’m surprised at how easy and simple it is to get health insurance, there are so many options to choose from“ Jose Tapia “The most pleasant surprise about Covered CA is that it is a one stop system where you can apply for both Medicaid and Exchange plans. This makes acquiring health insurance much simpler for everyone.“ 4

Jonathan Vargas

With the October 1 opening of Covered California, California’s health exchange created to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Venice Family Clinic is committed to helping enroll as many individuals as we can in health insurance programs. Among our patients we will find early adopters, healthy skeptics and those whose health coverage won’t be impacted, or improved at all.

For Venice Family Clinic health insurance enrollment specialists it has meant months of preparation, a willingness to learn and grow professionally and a keen understanding that there will be challenges, confusion and, as we’ve already experienced, some technical issues to be addressed along the way.

Over the summer our enrollment specialists began an intensive training and testing period, and ultimately certification to be able to physically enroll patients. In order to provide the best guidance, they have quickly ramped up their knowledge about different policies to determine which may be the best choice for different constituencies.

During this learning period, they have also spent time considering innovative ideas and options for reaching our community. At the end of the day, they together agreed that it wasn’t just our patients who would benefit from their knowledge, but rather the entire Los Angeles Westside community.

Outreach plans began internally, with presentations to our providers and staff about ACA. They then shifted to external

“I didn’t have health insurance until now. There have been times when I have been sick and needed to go to the doctor – but it was too expensive. I didn’t have the means to pay therefore preferred not to go. I have been grateful to Venice Family Clinic because they treat me and my family well” — Bacilia Trujillo Venice Family Clinic patient

audiences of our community collaborators. Finally, once the exchange opened in early October they began scheduling one-one-one appointments and holding open registration hours at multiple Venice Family Clinic sites. In addition to Venice Family Clinic’s staff of 15, we have deployed a group of more than 20 volunteers who, armed with

electronic tablets, will be providing information on insurance options to patients while they wait to be seen at the clinic.

In the past month our enrollment specialist have found patients dubious, confused and largely misinformed about ACA and Covered California and what it will mean for them and their families. Venice Family Clinic’s enrollment specialist Pattie Lopez speaks to patients about how one Emergency Room visit would cost far more than a year of premiums. “I have had a number of people open up about how they have already experienced a trip to the ER while uninsured. It is a devastating and stressful experience. Most are relieved that paying a monthly fee will not only provide security and peace of mind but also access to preventive care.”

Longtime clinic patient Bacilia Trujillo finds herself in a position she never imagined — she now has the ability to provide insurance for her family. In the weeks leading up to the opening of the Covered California, Venice Family Clinic worked with a Los Angeles Spanish-language television station, Telemundo, to help them produce a 30-minute segment to provide Los Angeles’ Spanish-language community with information on how to enroll. Bacilia volunteered to be a part of the program and

shared, “I didn’t have health insurance until now. There have been times when I have been sick and needed to go to the doctor — but it was too expensive. I didn’t have the means to pay therefore preferred not to go. I have been grateful to Venice Family Clinic because they treat me and my family well.”

There will be countless success stories as many of the 5.6 million uninsured Californians under the age of 65 find their way to insurance plans. However it is estimated that 3.1 million Californians will

remain uninsured. The reasons vary – undocumented residents are not eligible to enroll, and there will be others who fall into vulnerable populations who have historically had difficulty accessing health services. At Venice Family Clinic we will do our best to help those eligible get enrolled in an insurance program that best meets their needs. For the rest, we will continue to provide quality medical, dental, mental health, vision and specialty care to the men, women and children in our community with nowhere else to turn.

What will happen to California’s 5.6 Million uninsured under health reform in 2015?

2.6 Million will be newly insured but 3.1 Million will be uninsured

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Charting the Future of Children’s Health and Wellness Innovative design features: • Mobile electronic health records systems including tablets/iphones to replace fixed desks and computer stations • Medical team cluster space to facilitate communication across our clinical teams including social workers, doctors, dentists, etc.

• Activity areas in the waiting room to engage children and parents during their time with us • Teaching kitchen to take our healthy eating and nutrition classes to the next level

A sampling of services to be offered: • Integrated medical, dental, vision, mental health and wellness service delivery • All patients will remain in the same room – our providers come to them • Speech therapy and developmental assessments • Health education ranging from cooking and nutrition to family planning and disease prevention • Weight management and exercise classes for all ages • Parent training and support groups • Homework assistance, education and career information • Extended clinical hours to accommodate busy working families • Patient communication and education regarding wait times and future appointments

If you were given an opportunity to rethink approaches to children and family health care delivery from the ground up, where would you start? What would it look like? How would you create an environment that would truly change health outcomes for children in our community?

We had that opportunity and our vision will be realized when we open our new Children’s Health and Wellness Center next fall.

Healthy children, strong families and thriving communities – these are several themes that consistently resonate at Venice Family Clinic as we look for ways to improve our services and help more people on Los Angeles’ Westside.

We know that children benefit and thrive not only when they are cared for but also when their parents, family members and entire communities have access to health care and preventive services. All of these factors entered into the planning and development of a new children’s health and wellness center to be located in a renovated commercial space next to our Irma Colen Health Center.

Through innovative design features and cutting-edge integration of pediatric services, the new center will emphasize prevention and well-being in a way that we envision will change the face of pediatric care in Los Angeles.

Research, evaluating and planning – Venice Family Clinic staff, board members and our health care and pediatric leaders spent several months completing a unique design and brainstorming process, thanks to a partnership with Innovationship, LLC, a leading design thinking firm. We spoke with patients and

providers to evaluate new design features that will improve care. Core to the process, we learned about efficiency and the use of technology by interviewing staff at Google and by visiting community clinics, public parks, social service organizations and museums. This design thinking process has resulted in plans for an innovative, technologically advanced and comprehensive integrated pediatric clinic built to serve children and families for decades to come.

Programs and Services – Design thinking also enhanced our plans for the center’s programs and services. As a training clinic for medical residents, Venice Family Clinic is consistently at the forefront of innovation. The design thinking process allowed our doctors and nurses to dream up the pediatric clinic of tomorrow.

The new center will be a pediatric medical home – for the first time in our history we will have a dedicated clinic for infants, children and teens from birth to age 19. Families will access quality care in their neighborhood, with the same doctor each visit, to quickly and efficiently meet their health and wellness needs.

In order for additional programs to be implemented in future years, the center’s flexible design will allow us to adapt exam rooms, waiting space and other areas as needed to continue to innovate and succeed in providing outstanding care in new ways. At full capacity, the center will bring health and well-being services to 3,000 pediatric patients and countless family and community members. Please plan to join us for a community celebration when we open the new center’s doors next fall.

Stay tuned for more information as we break ground and create 6

a new pediatric medical home to open in Mar Vista in fall 2014

Major Gifts March 30, 2013 – October 31, 2013 $100,000 +

Anonymous (2) Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Louis Colen Dream Fund Dr. Michele Hamilton Leonard M. Lipman Charitable Fund William R. Payden Living Trust Joan Payden The Resnick Family Foundation Lynda & Stewart Resnick Ring Foundation Cynthia Miscikowski Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System Mission Fund Saint John's Health Center UCLA Health System/ David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA First 5 LA University of the Pacific Dental School Wilbur May Foundation Anita May Rosenstein & Arnold Rosenstein Amanda May Stefan Brian Rosenstein $50,000 to $99,999

Anonymous The Dharma Grace Foundation Chuck Lorre The Eisner Foundation George Hoag Family Foundation L.A. Care Health Plan Medtronic Foundation The Barry and Wendy Meyer Foundation John Wesley Community Health Institute, Inc. Ruth Ziegler $25,000 to $49,000

Patricia & William Flumenbaum The Karl Kirchgessner Foundation The Harold McAlister Charitable Foundation Frederick R. Weisman Philanthropic & Art Foundation Billie Milam Weisman $10,000 to $24,999

Anonymous Gerrie Smith & Dr. Neal Baer Blue Shield of California Foundation Judy & Bernard Briskin California Community Foundation Varian S & Gwendolyn L Green Fund Dr. Mayer B. Davidson & Roseann Herman, Esq. Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation The Harold Edelstein Foundation Esther & Steven Feder Friends of the Culver City Youth Health Center

The Mark Hughes Foundation Kaiser Permanente of Southern California The Gary Saltz Foundation Sunair Children's Foundation United World of the Universe Foundation Fred Segal J.B. and Emily Van Nuys Charities Permanent Endowments

Judy & Bernard Briskin Women’s Health Endowment Irma and Lou Colen Physician Endowment Mose and Sylvia Firestone Social Work Endowment Karsten Family Domestic Violence Endowment Sadie and Norman Lee Teen Clinic Physician Endowment Milken Family Physician Endowment Resnick Family Mental Health Program Endowment Jack H. Skirball Medical Director Endowment Gail and Irv Weintraub Endowment Frederick R. Weisman Psychosocial Services Endowment Ziegler Family Trust Legacy Society

Anonymous (3) Robert C. Aronoff Katherine Bard Irma & Louis Colen Mayer B. Davidson, MD & Roseann Herman, Esq. Sylivia & Mose Firestone, PhD Patricia & William Flumenbaum Elizabeth Benson Forer & Daniel Forer Charlotte Robertson Hamilton Elaine Hoffman James H. & Ruth Jacobson Joanne Jubelier, PhD Dr. Satish Kadaba Marilyn H. Karsten Amita & Viren Mehta Leah & William Molle – Molle Living Trust Carol Mortier Jacquie Nemor William Payden Charlotte Neumann, MD & Alfred Neumann, MD Jennifer O'Brian & Ryan Koh Janet Papkin Maida Richards Stanley Richards Erich and Marha Schweiger Fern & Robert Seizer Jeffrey E. Sinaiko Shirley & Leonard Stone Ina Tillman Beatrice Zeiger Please call 310.664.7932 for corrections.

People, Places, and Things United Talent Agency Day of Service United Talent Agency team members showed their commitment to the community with a day of service at Venice Family Clinic! UTA volunteers worked their magic at our Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center, getting the word out about National Health Center Week, creating a new succulent garden in front of the clinic and giving new life to our children’s play area with new furniture, decorations, toys and more!

Encouraging a New Generation of Supporters It’s never too early to learn about philanthropy! This year, two of our Foundation Board of Trustees members (and Silver Circle honorees) worked with their children to make support of Venice Family Clinic a family affair. Christine & Chester Griffiths’ long-time involvement inspired Chester Henry Griffiths to raise funds through art projects with children.

Chester Henry presented a check to CEO Liz Forer at Venice Art Walk. Abigail Nathanson made Venice Family Clinic the beneficiary of her Bat Mitzvah, bringing her parents, Audra & Jeff Nathanson, and friends together to give our children’s waiting room on Rose Avenue a wonderful makeover.

Dr. Myles Spar Honored Congratulations to Dr. Myles Spar, Director of Integrative Medicine at Venice Family Clinic's Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center, who was presented with the Bravewell Collaborative’s Leadership Award for his work in the field of integrative medicine.

Venice Family Clinic Recieves Critical Support Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: Tremendous thanks to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for investing in Venice Family Clinic’s future through a gift of $375,000 to fund critical infrastructure support. Their donation will make critical systems and facilities upgrades possible, from the update of telephone and IT systems that patients rely on for appointments, to the repair of the elevator and air conditioning systems at our largest clinic, the Simms/Mann Health & Wellness Center.

Weingart Foundation: The Weingart Foundation has long been a visionary investor in Venice Family Clinic’s work, enhancing pediatric care and ensuring access to much-needed dental services for our patients. Thanks to the Foundation’s most recent gift of $250,000, our electronic health record system is now live at all Venice Family Clinic health centers, bringing seamless, real-time coordinated care to patients across the Westside.

Venice Art Walk Surf & Skate Auction Venice Family Clinic’s 3rd annual Surf & Skate Auction raised more than $40,000 thanks to the custom creations of professional surfers, skateboarders, artists and architects! Hosted by the Robert Berman Gallery, the event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the legendary surf film “The Endless Summer” and the film poster designed by iconic graphic artist and Venice Art Walk Signature Artist John Van Hamersveld! Many thanks to our host committee: Robert Berman, Bruce Brown, Kristy Campbell, Laddie John Dill, Mark X Farina, John Van Hamersveld, Robb Havassy, David Hertz, Jeff Ho, Jason Lewis, Andy Moses, Pat Ngoho and Jennifer Wolf.

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604 Rose Avenue • Venice, CA 90291 PHONE 310.664.7910 • FAX 310.396.8279 www.venicefamilyclinic.org Address service requested

Thank You Dr. Solomon Dr. Solomon passionately devoted his life’s work to the health of our community. As executive chair of the UCLA Department of Medicine and an early champion of Venice Family Clinic, Dr. Solomon’s legacy will live on in the lives of those he mentored and those for whom he cared. We are grateful for the generous gifts Venice Family Clinic has received in his memory.

2013

Children’s Holiday Movie Donate to win a Trip to LONDON! Please contact Kaylie Alexander at KDAlexander@mednet.ucla.edu or 310.664.7921 to support Venice Family Clinic’s Pediatric Programs.

ww.venicefamilyclinic.org

M O N D AY, M A R C H 3 R D at The Beverly Hilton Hotel Please contact Erin Harnisch at 310.664.7911 or eharnisch@mednet.ucla.edu

In Memory of Venice Family Clinic’s Recently Departed Supporters Luke Benjamin, Mark Benjamin, Naomi Ruth Childs, Fabiola Cordoba, Stanley Dashew, Shari Horowitz Epstein, Ruth Weiss Hertz, Ruth Jacobson, Allan B. Lasher, Millie Margolis, Katherine K. McTaggart, William R. Payden, Ted Post, Rosalyn Sinaiko, Shirley Schnackenberg, Paul Shaikh, Jack Shea, Dr. David H. Solomon, M.D., Harriet Squire 8

Venice Family Clinic’s Silver Circle brings our most dedicated supporters together to raise more than $1 million annually to help the clinic provide quality, affordable health care to people in need.