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Resident Life at Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Community Outreach
As a nonprofit HMO, Kaiser has a long tradition of sponsoring volunteer,
preventative and medical mission efforts. There are multiple health
seminars and health fairs for which you can volunteer. Our organization
has supported medical teams for both the Tsunami and Katrina relief.
In addition, Kaiser Permanente as an organization, donated $1 million
to Tsunami relief, $1 million to Pakistan Earthquake relief and
$2 million to Katrina relief.
Kaiser Permanente Residency Programs are uniquely called to serve
the underprivileged in their communities. Several of our Obstetrics
and Gynecology residents spend time in free clinics in their communities,
dispensing care and advice to those too poor to afford traditional
care. Residents in our internal medicine and pediatric programs
go out to high schools in the Oakland and Santa Clara area and host
adolescent clinics for students. Residents from our Oakland programs
also go out to the West Berkeley Clinic to help treat the underserved
population there. In addition, third year residents in our Pediatrics
program spend a month on a community medicine rotation. During this
month, residents have the opportunity to work in community-based
clinics serving underserved populations. They also spend time learning
more about community resources including WIC, The Regional Center
of the East Bay, hospice centers, and the Alameda County Lead Prevention
Program.Our Head and Neck Surgery department has involved residents
in medical missions to Guatemala and the Philippines. We also have
donated surgical services to Operation Access, which offers free
ambulatory surgical services to the Bay Area’s working poor.
A Resident's Story:
Dr. Noah Rodriguez recounts a story
from his work at a community high school clinic.
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I feel so fortunate to be in a residency
program that has a community rotation. This away-from-the-hospital
experience allows residents to diversify and broaden our clinical
exerience while providing an invaluable service to the youth
of our community. This experience has been enriching for both
the students and the physicians who work with them. I would
like to share my experience with Marcos.
Marcos came to teen clinic for information about condoms,
sexually transmitted infections, and birth control. He is
15yo and has been in the United States for 4years. He is a
freshman in high school and he lives with his two older brothers
who did not graduate high school. During our conversation,
he expressed his interest in going to college. He admitted
that he was having some difficulty in school and that learning
English was challenging. Our discussion about sexually transmitted
infections transformed into a discussion about college and
career options. Following our conversation, Marcos left clinic
with more than just information about sexual health. He left
with a renewed commitment to not only continue with his high
school education but he was also visibly inspired to become
the first person in his family to go to college.
As the first person in my family to attend college, the clinic
visit with Marcos held a personal significance. Twenty years
ago, someone spent time with me and inspired me to look beyond
my East Los Angeles surroundings and pursue my dreams. Now,
as a physician, I am grateful to have the opportunity to do
the same for others. The community rotation gives us the distinct
opportunity to practice preventive medicine, be role models
and to inspire youth to set and to pursue their goals. |
For more about Kaiser Permanente's community outreach efforts,
click
here to go to our KP.org site.
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