Legislative and Community Advocacy
Family Medicine Residency Program
Located in the heart of California (the 8th largest economy on the planet), the Sutter Health Family Medicine Residency program has strategic proximity to our legislators and media hubs. Residents can spend an elective accompanying CAFP lobbyist Tom Riley as he navigates the vagaries of health policy inside our Capitol building. Resident Dr. Eryn Xavier recently “suited up” on this elective and learned a lot about how much legislators know and don’t know about healthcare.
Resident Dr. Alisha McCon-Dyer served with CAFP as a medical student and then served as Intern Liaison upon starting residency. We are now proud to have Alisha serving as Resident President of the CAFP. Resident Dr. Irene Lee-Klass was FMIG Liaison to the CAFP as a student and participated in CAFP student board leadership. She helped organize a statewide effort among health professional students to support single payer legislation for universal healthcare that unfortunately was later vetoed by our “Governator.” To learn more about getting involved with CAFP, visit http://www.familydocs.org/advocacy.php.
Our resident ombudsman Dr. Jose Arevalo, in addition to being a champion for minority causes, also serves on the board of the CAFP. Faculty Dr. Nathan Hitzeman is a writer/editor for the local medical society journal as well as the CAFP’s publication California Family Physician where he sits on the Communications Committee. He garnered attention with a recent advocacy piece entitled “Setting the Record Straight on Primary Care.”
Program director Dr. Marion Leff has advocated for primary care funding in front of the legislature. She also participated in a video documentary of a day in life of a primary care doc and was a panelist for a forum on National Public Radio. Dr. Leff is well-known in the community and has been voted by physician peers as “Top Doc” in family medicine by Sacramento Magazine in 2001 and 2007.
Associate program director and healthcare policy guru, Dr. Stan Gambrill, is chair of the family medicine department in our organization and often speaks to us on healthcare reform. Davis track director Dr. Joan Smith-Maclean and Dr. Marion Leff also sit on the Board of the Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region where they weigh in on crucial policy issues within the organization.
Sutter Medical Group (SMG) and Sutter West Medical Group (SWMG) are emerging champions of the patient centered medical home (PCMH). SMG President Don Wreden was among a select few to attend recent meetings in Washington regarding healthcare reform, rubbing elbows with the new Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Donald Berwick.
Since the various family medicine associations published their landmark article “The Future of Family Medicine” in 2004 , Sutter Health has incorporated many vital features of the PCMH into its organization. Family physicians account for the majority of primary care doctors in our organization and are fortunate to maintain the breadth of their skills and to provide full scope care.
We are on the cutting edge of electronic health records and are contracted with EPIC systems. Our community-based program has proven an optimal breeding ground for family docs who often want to stay within the organization. For those who go elsewhere, they carry on the passion that has been kindled. Our organization is leading the way in optimizing timely patient access, quality of care, physician collaboration, and patient and physician satisfaction.
Unless we speak up in our community, our voices will not be heard and the needs of our patients will not be met. Have you found your voice yet?... Maybe we can help!