Doctor’s efforts and determination culminate to assist those in need

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There are empty patient rooms ready to be filled with people who cannot afford health insurance.

Doctors will provide free medical and eye exams, which includes free glasses. There will be gynecology, neurology and radiology services, physical therapy, nutritional education and lung and kidney specialists.

The focus is on preventative medicine.

“The goal is to prevent people from going to the ER. Prevent that heart attack, prevent that stroke, prevent the patients who are going to need dialysis because they couldn’t come see a physician,” said Dr. Ahmad Nooristani.

He is the founder of the clinic, SLO Noor Foundation, and said he is trying to reach the middle class patients. “Part of the problem is with current insurance, the premium is getting higher, every visit costs a lot of money. I see a lot of people who do have a job they do have some income but they still cannot afford to get insurance, whether it’s the premium or the co-pay.”

Dr. Nooristani said 4,000 uninsured patients made visits to emergency rooms at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and French Hospital Medical Center last year alone, adding that 30 percent of the population in San Luis Obispo County are uninsured.

The need for a clinic like this is more than ever, but there’s one thing stopping Dr. Nooristani from opening the doors.

The heating ventilation-air conditioning unit needed to be changed out before an operating license can be issued. It was an unexpected $26,000 cost.

“It’s one of the obstacles we’re currently working and I hope to get that donated to at least open the doors,” said Dr. Nooristani.

Everything in the office has been donated. The hope is the community will be inspired to help one last time.

Once the doors are open, Dr. Nooristani said it will be the first clinic of its kind: with so many services under one roof, offered free of charge, and being 100 percent volunteer run from the doctors to the front desk, aside from two part time positions.

Register Here

A JOURNEY BY FOOT Walkathon is a collaboration between the non-profits SLO Noor Foundation and Doc to Dock. Both organizations are jointly working on the solution to the healthcare dilemmas facing us here and around the world. They will be sharing the proceeds 50/50. SLO Noor Foundation’s funds will go directly to provide medical supplies and equipment. Doc to Dock’s will go directly towards shipping a 40ft container of medical supplies to Africa. Jointly, both Founders will be walking side by side with all of you who want to help everyone have an opportunity to have medical care. They provide high quality healthcare and supplies locally and abroad to those in need.

SLO Noor Foundation is a free medical clinic that will be opening up in San Luis Obispo. It is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Founder: Ahmad Nooristani, Internal Medicine, Medical Director Sierra Vista Hospital.

Doc to Dock is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was originally inspired by the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. Doc to Dock’s mission is to collect unused medical supplies from the American medical community for redistribution to our counterparts in developing African nations and Haiti. By doing so, this decreases the amount of pressure on the U.S. landfills. Founder: Bruce Charash, Cardiologist, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine NYU.

There are many dilemmas that we face day to day, but one that haunts us all consistently is our health and environment. Living in a era where our landfills are filling up and it’s time for us to go green. Everyday in the United States we throw out 7,000 tons of unused or clearly reusable medical supplies and equipment. Come together, side by side, and hike up Cerro San Luis to give an opportunity for those who do not have medical insurance to get medical assistance in the San Luis Obispo community and help keep the United States landfills down by shipping a 40ft container of medical supplies to Africa.

A JOURNEY BY FOOT Walkathon will hold it’s first annual event May 21, 2011 collaborating between two non-profits SLO Noor Foundation and Doc to Dock. The hike up Cerro San Luis (Madonna Mt) begins at 8AM on the Laguna Lake side of Cerro San Luis followed by music in the plaza at 12PM. Challenge yourself, Run it!

To participate, download the Student Registration Form or the Child Registration Form and the Pledge Sheet.

If you would like to be a sponsor, take a look at the Sponsorship Opportunities.

BY ALYCIA KILEY

CHEERS TO HEALTH!
After helping the Ugandan North American Medical Society, Rebeca Ponce is now helping a local doctor host a fundraiser for other worthy medical causes.

Few 24-year-olds have the persistence and confidence of Rebeca Ponce. A born-and-raised SLO native, Ponce decided she wanted to volunteer with Ugandan North American Medical Society (UNAMS).

“I didn’t take no for an answer,” she said. “I basically just asked them what I needed to get done in order to go to Uganda with the team.”

Numerous immunizations and a long conversation with her parents later, Ponce set out.

Volunteering with the medical team, she shadowed a neurosurgeon at the Bwera District Hospital in Kasese, Uganda.

The very first surgery Ponce observed was on a four-month-old baby with the most serious form of spina bifida, myelomeningocele. In this developmental birth defect, a cyst forms alongside a gap in the lower lumbar region of the spinal column. The spinal cord is pushed into the cyst, causing neurological defects.

Since the hospital lacked a pediatric table, the baby lay on an adult bed, cushions keeping him in place. During surgery, the cushions compressed his lungs, and he flat-lined. Luckily, the surgeons figured out what happened in time to save him.

Right then and there, exhausted from hours of merely watching, Ponce vowed to do what she could to procure supplies for the effort.

She contacted board members on the medical team and connected with Bruce Charash, a New York cardiologist, internal medicine doctor, and NYU professor. You wouldn’t think it humanly possible to add to his full plate, but he’s also founder of Doc to Dock.

Doc to Dock is the first commitment made by Bill Clinton for the Clinton Global Initiative Conference (CGI). Established in 2005, CGI brings leaders from around the globe together to generate solutions to the world’s urgent issues. Together, members implement specific and measurable “Commitments to Action.”

Charash suggested Doc to Dock at CGI because of the shocking amount of medical waste in this country.

“Seven thousand tons of medical supplies are wasted daily. With Doc to Dock, we are able to collect unused medical supplies that would otherwise be discarded,” Charash said. “Then we assess what the African or Haitian hospitals need. Establishing ground partners, we make sure the 40-foot container gets there. In Ghana, the Catholic church is our reliable partner; the archbishop himself receives the shipment.”

Charash hopes Doc to Dock, currently a seven-person team plus interns and volunteers, will expand and concentrate on specific locations.

Get involved
Download registration forms and sponsorship opportunities for the SLO Noor and Doc to Sock event on May 21 at slonoorfoundation.org, under News and Events. For volunteer opportunities, contact rebecamariaponce@gmail. Help will be needed for set-up/breakdown, carrying water, directing hikers, and parking. If you’re interested in volunteering for SLO Noor, visit slonoorfoundation.org. Work opportunities may be available in clerical work, fundraising/public awareness, and specialized areas.

The Noor Foundation

A humanitarian in the fullest, Ponce jumped on board when she heard Ahmad Nooristani was planning a free clinic called the SLO Noor Foundation. An internal medicine doctor at French Hospital and medical director of Sierra Vista, Nooristani wants to give back to his neighborhood.

Originally from Afghanistan, Nooristani’s family moved to the United States when he was 14.

“In Afghanistan we don’t have physicians, and here we have them but can’t see them because we’re uninsured,” he said. “What’s the difference?”

There are no obstacles at the Phillips Lane Clinic; anyone uninsured can come.

“I am seeing a growing need here, with around 30 percent of the county uninsured,” he said. “Millions of people per year are using emergency rooms as primary care, taking resources away from those in urgent need.”

SLO Noor Foundation will offer basic primary and gynecological care, lab testing, radiology, and referrals to other services. A “medical home” for adults with acute and chronic illnesses, routine supervision, and medication will be provided.

Focusing on preventative medicine, the clinic will offer lectures and workshops on depression, heart failure, and diabetes. A social worker will counsel and guide people to resources they qualify for. Serving as a center providing resources and connections, SLO Noor will bring various aspects of the community together, but the clinic faces one obstacle before it can open.

“The Department of Health says the ventilation system should be upgraded,” Nooristani said, “but the process will cost $10,000. We still have to find a donor or raise the money.”

Still, the space is ready to go: three exam rooms, a physical therapy room, and a painted mural.

The community has banded together to make the clinic a reality. More than 300 people have already volunteered, including physicians, specialists, nutritionists, nursing staff, and students.

“We know we have a problem with adequate medical care,” Nooristani said, “ and I have provided a solution that works through community support. I have not yet talked to anyone who has said ‘no.’ Everyone is stepping forward.”

Among some of the biggest supporters are Sierra Vista, French Hospital, Arroyo Grande Hospital, Campus Health, and Pacific Eye.

Ponce will bring together the efforts of SLO Noor and Doc to Dock with a fundraiser event in May, allowing the nonprofits to jointly work on a solution to healthcare dilemmas locally and around the world. On Saturday, May 21, the event kicks off with a hike (or run) up Cerro San Luis. An after-party in Mission Plaza includes music and a silent auction. Registration donations go straight to the nonprofits, with a goal of sending a 40-foot container of medical supplies to Bwera District Hospital.

Intern Alycia Kiley can be reached via Managing Editor Ashley Schwellenbach at aschwellenbach@newtimesslo

French Hospital Medical Center has helped eight non-profits improve health and living conditions in San Luis Obispo County by awarding more than $40,000 as part of its annual Community Grant Program.

The organizations that received grants are:

· Alliance for Pharmaceutical Access, Inc (APA) was awarded $7,500 to expand its model of providing prescription medications for chronic medical conditions to targeted populations such as the uninsured, under-insured, seniors, low and very low income.

· San Luis Obispo ALPHA, Inc was awarded $2,500 to expand existing prenatal and perinatal depression support by offering a weekly Spanish speaking support for Latina mothers struggling with the adjustment to motherhood.

· El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO) was awarded $5,000 to help continue to accommodate the unmet needs of the homeless by providing shelter, meals and medical care to prevent disease.

· Enhancement, Inc. was awarded $5,000 for the Breast Cancer Care Fund to help continue to provide financial assistance in paying for supplies for lymph-edema treatment and/or other breast cancer-related treatment costs for breast cancer survivors in need.

· Gatehelp, Inc. was awarded $5,000 to help fund full-time case management positions in order to assist all clients to complete necessary health screenings, assist with transportation referrals and attend health care/mental health appointments.

· SLO Noor Foundation was awarded $5,748 to secure funds to purchase medical equipment and supplies, examination equipment and office equipment for its free health clinic.

· Transitional Food and Shelter, Inc. was awarded $5,000 to provide round-the-clock, temporary shelter for homeless cancer patients.

· Wilshire Community Services was awarded $5,000 for to fund the Aftercare Intervention Service program, which provides an accessible continuum of service options for older adults and their families after being discharged from a hospital. Currently, there is no other source for funding.

French Hospital has given out nearly $140,000 to non-profits in San Luis Obispo County since it began awarding community grants five years ago.