CHC Can Help You Quit Smoking

Donna Freeman | TOBACCO CESSATIONMonthly Tobacco Cessation Classes Offered to Employees & Patients

Do you have a patient, friend or relative that needs help to stop smoking? How about you? Could you use some assistance? In November of 2006 the CHC Clinic on Santa Maria Way began to offer tobacco cessation services. In April we added a Spanish speaking facilitator so we could offer services to our Spanish speaking population.

We offer monthly classes in both Spanish and English and also offer some individual sessions on a case by case basis. We offer Nicotine replacement therapy at no cost to those that qualify and also offer reimbursement for Chantix, Zyban and Wellbutrin to qualified participants. These classes are open to the public. Participants must be 18 years of age.

We offer a combination of education, process group and support. You can contact me, Donna Freeman, or Jose Nevarez at (805) 938-0935 x619 (the extension may change in the near future, we will keep you posted)

There are referral forms available at the clinic. Classes are held in the CHC Human Resources conference room, at 2801 Santa Maria Way, Suite C, Santa Maria. There is a series of seven classes per month with a suggested one-time donation of $20.00.

(There is no charge to the Spanish Speaking population)

We will be happy to e mail you a monthly schedule of our classes. E-mail me at dfreeman@chccc.org and request a schedule of classes.

Santa Maria "Parade of Lights" A Rousing Success

Photos by Nathan Appel. ©2007 All rights reserved.
Click on slideshow to view gallery and order prints online.

Steve Smith | MARKETING

The 2007 Santa Maria Christmas Parade of Lights was by all accounts a rousing success. This year's parade featured 110 entries, including local businesses, churches, charities, schools and social groups. Both sides of Broadway were brimming with spectators, estimated at over 25,000 onlookers, a big increase over last year's turnout.

Four Rotary clubs - Santa Maria Breakfast, Santa Maria South, Santa Maria Noontime and Nipomo - organize the parade. In keeping with the theme, “The Joy of Giving,” spectators and parade participants brought in almost 5,000 pounds of nonperishable food items to donate to the Salvation Army food pantry.

This year's CHC procession was presided over by our Honorary Head Cheerleader, Lisa Silva. Lisa led the pack -- pop-poms waving -- and kept everyone in good spirits with her infectious cheer. She led the kids in CHC chants, and impressed us all with her acrobatic high kicks. As always, we could not have pulled off this year's entry without Parade Volunteer Coordinator Irma Mejia, and Transportation Queen Patty Starr. Special thanks to everyone who arrived early to help with decorating the Mobile Medical Unit, which looked beautiful. Even our photographer Nathan Appel put down his camera long enough to help trim the van with lights. This year our team handed out 3000 CHC brochures in English and Spanish, which included a "Healthy Holidays" refrigerator magnet, highlighting the two Santa Maria health center locations.

KCOY and FOX11 both featured live coverage of the parade. CHC's entry can be viewed here: CHC Parade Coverage
After the commercial, CHC is position #69, at minute 13:47 in the video clip

I have to take a moment to thank all the kids who participated. During the hours before the parade, and during the procession itself, I never once heard a single word of protest from these little troopers. They were all smiles and waves, and so helpful with handing out brochures, while spreading CHC's special brand of holiday cheer. My hats off to them, and to their parents for raising such well-mannered and enthusiastic youngsters!

Many, many thanks to all the volunteers for braving the chilly weather -- you are CHC's Ambassadors to the communities we serve.

Healthy Holidays!

In-service by Tufts University Researcher Ann McDermott: "Prescribing Exercise for Your Patients"

CHC medical staffers are invited to a free evening lecture presented by Tufts University Research Scientist and Cal Poly Assistant Kinesiology Professor Dr. Ann McDermott. Dr. McDermott has been lecturing across the country, most recently in Boston, MA, sharing her depth of knowledge on the topic of obesity prevention, and prescribing an effective exercise regimen for patients.

Attendees will learn about what exercises can be tailored to address patient's specific health issues, how much/how often patients should exercise, and what side effects or warning signs they should look for. The goal of this program is to prescribe every patient an effective exercise regimen that they can incorporate in their daily lives - in much the same way they would with medication. This promises to be a truly enlightening evening, and the first of what hopes to be an ongoing lecture series by Dr. McDermott, if there proves to be enough interest.

Speaker: Ann Yelmokas McDermott, PhD, MS, LN
Associate Professor, Cal Poly Kinesiology Department, Director of the Developing Center for Obesity Prevention & Education, & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine

Dr. McDermott is a research scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University Lipid Metabolism Laboratory, studying the effects of exercise and diet on health, weight, and body composition (fat, lean and bone). Her interests have spanned healthy aging, athletic performance, HIV, with her current work focused on obesity, weight loss, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Dr. McDermott is dedicated to educating the medical community on the complex relationships between nutrition, health, disease and human performance. She teaches the Nutrition and Medicine course at the Tufts University School of Medicine, has published a number of scientific papers on the role of diet and exercise in disease treatment and prevention, and is often interviewed for magazines, television, radio, and newspapers.

Prescribing Exercise for Your Patients
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
7:00pm – 8:30pm

Healthful appetizers and drinks will be provided.

CHC Coastal Medical Center
336 South Halcyon, Arroyo Grande
(Across the street from Arroyo Grande Hospital)

RSVP: CHC Oceano; (805) 270-0025
Leave a message & a CHC Oceano staffer will respond promptly

Santa Maria Christmas Parade - Call for Volunteers

Irma Mejia | HOMELESS PROGRAM (HCHP)
Photos by Nathan Appel. All rights reserved, ©2006


The holidays are upon us, and CHC is preparing our entry in the Annual Santa Maria Rotary Christmas Parade. This year's parade is on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 and starts at 5:20 p.m. We would like to invite all staff and their families to volunteer to walk in this year's CHC entry. If you are interested in participating please contact Irma Mejia NO LATER THAN Tuesday, November 20, 2007.

You can email Irma @ imejia@chccc.org or call her at (805) 440-9175.

Any volunteers who do not already have a red CHC sweatshirt, please let Irma know your sizes ASAP. We need to remind all volunteers that pets are not allowed in the parade. We will be providing Elf & Snowman costumes for the kids again this year, so let Irma know how many children will be walking, their age, and size. An email update will be sent out with our line-up number and arrival time as soon as we hear from parade organizers.

Thanks, and Healthy Holidays!

Important Updates from Pharmacy Services

Chris Mitsuoka | PHARMACY SERVICES

Exubera Off the Market: Regrettably, Pfizer has chosen to discontinue marketing their new inhaled form of Insulin (Exubera). Over the past year, sales have not justified the continued marketing of the medication.

A continued area of concern for the clinics
is the handling of multi-dose injectable vials.

Tracking Punctured Vials: It is very important that every multi-dose vial be clearly marked with the date that the vial was initially punctured. All multi-dose vials, except for State provided vaccines, must be discarded 30 days from the date indicated on the punctured vial.

Dilantin Has a New Look: There has been a change in the appearance of brand Dilantin 100mg Kapeals. The former Kapseal (White with an orange band) has been replaced by a standard half white and half orange capsule. If your patients call to ask if this is still the correct medication, you may assure them that it is still the brand-name Dilantin, just in a different-looking capsule. The new capsules meet the federal requirements for bioequivalence. For the time being, no changes have been made to the 30mg Dilantin Kapseal.

Close The Loop With Patients: The pharmacy delivery system continues to grow to service patients in outlying CHC clinics. Feedback is that patients appreciate the service and cooperation from the clinic staff. To close the loop, please be sure to collect the co-payment for the prescription and complete the deposit documentation.

If there are any questions regarding collection of the co-payments, please contact Steve Festor in the pharmacy (sfestor@chccc.org).

Saturday Classes Available for Computer Training

Many of you have contacted me for more information regarding the Microsoft Basics Course. This course will be held in the Nipomo training room, located in the Medical Administration building (131 W Dana Street, Suite 101) on Saturday 11/3, 11/10 and 11/17. Due to limited space we have split each class into two sessions, 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm.

This course covers basic Microsoft operating procedures, including using the "Start" menu, saving files, file types, creating documents in Microsoft Word, printing documents, and more. We will continue to move forward with intermediate and advance courses in the future.

If you are a Receptionist or HCM, this course is mandatory and considered a job requirement!

If you are interested or required to attend a November course, please contact CHC Training Coordinator Victoria Valdiviezo at (805) 938-0935 ext 405.

Halloweirdness at CHC Nipomo

Many of the CHC Nipomo staff really got into the Halloween spirit this year. Thanks to Jeff Castle for snapping these photos of the create costumes. If other CHC sites have photos of their Halloween festivities to display on CHC NEWS, please contact Steve Smith at steveas@chccc.org.

Get the Training You Need

George Johnston | HUMAN RESOURCES
CHC has several types of training requirements, and we are constantly working to make our programs more interesting and effective. Last fall we began a more formal program of training our two largest categories of employees; Receptionists and Medical Assistants. We also added to our Human Resources Department, a Training Coordinator to oversee our various training programs. The following are some of the training sessions that we currently provide, or will provide in the near future:

• Our annual Blood Borne Pathogen/Hazard Communication Training is held during the summer.
• We have a monthly CPR Class at different sites on the third Tuesday of each month.
• In December, we will hold a First-time Supervisors Training where we bring in a Trainer from Skill Craft. This year we will also offer an Advanced Supervisor Training in October.
• We have regional sessions scheduled this fall for Child, Elder, and Domestic Abuse training. These will be attended by all “direct patient care” staff.
• With NextGen, our new Practice Management System coming online soon, we have found it necessary to offer computer training to some of our staff. These computer skills classes will be held in the next few months. This training will include Microsoft Access, Word, and Excel and will be given in preparation of our NextGen Training.
• It is a requirement that Supervisors receive Sexual Harassment Training when hired, and be re-trained every two years. This training will be held in the next few months.
• In conjunction with our Great Expectations Program training programs are in development on Patient Communication, specifically AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, and Thank you).

We have also set up a permanent computer lab at our Medical Administration Office on Dana Street in Nipomo. This room will have up to sixteen computer workstations. We are also in the process of recruiting two trainers from among our staff, one for front-office and one for back-office. Their duties will include the orientation of all new staff as well as developing an in-service program for current staff.

If you have any questions, please contact our Training Coordinator, Victoria Valdiviezo at 938-0935 x405.

CHC Dental Gets a Taste of the SLO-life

Joseph Mercardante | DENTAL SERVICES
In the ongoing effort to increase access to care, CHC Dental continues to grow. We have added a provider and a new office in San Luis Obispo, along with three new employees!

CHC is thrilled that Dr. Paul Walker has decided to join our staff. Dr. Walker attended the University of Florida Dental School in Gainesville, FL. After graduation in 2001, he joined the Air Force and completed his General Practice Residency at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Following starting a private practice in Arroyo Grande, Dr. Walker now cares for our patients at CHC Santa Maria II and CHC Lompoc.

ATTENTION Employees: We now have dental care in San Luis Obispo! My dental practice at 878 Boysen Ave. (near New Frontiers Grocery) is the newest addition to the CHC network. This is a private office, and offers our employees a relaxing place for treatment.

Also joining the fold are Office Manager Teryn Kelley, Dental Assistant Nancy Jordan, and Dental Hygienist Mandy Daniels. Teryn has managed the SLO office for the past two-and-a-half years. Call her at (805) 544-9440 to make an appointment. Nancy has been my assistant for over a year-and-a-half. Nancy is a career dental assistant, and her welcoming smile and friendly personality will help put you at ease. Mandy is our newest hygienist, and a recent graduate of Carrillo School of Hygiene.

Dr. Malia Johnson is now available at CHC SLO Dental on Thursdays and Fridays. Any employee that makes a new appointment with Dr. Johnson in SLO will be entered in a drawing for a free teeth whitening!

Nipomo Dental Assistants Patricia Hernandez and Mia Valdoz recently attended a “1st Smiles Training” in Santa Ynez. Under the direction of Dr. Johnson, and with help from Dental assistant Dora Gallegoes, the group began Fluoride Varnish Training. They will be participating in the Pediatric F Varnish Campaign throughout SLO County. The Dental Department hopes to have all CHC Pediatricians participating in the fluoride varnish program for their young patients.

Finally, we wish to welcome Hygienist Esthela Castro in Santa Maria and Dental Assistant Josh Mendivar in Templeton. Recent hires Esthela and Josh wasted no time getting started by participating in the Oceano Health Fair. Esthela and Josh teamed up to provide hygiene instruction and Fluoride varnish to almost a 100 youngsters.

Please help me in welcoming our newest members to the CHC Dental team!

Saluting California’s Healthcare Heroes

Steve Smith | MARKETING
This year was CHC’s inaugural entry in the annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Parade. Staffers embodied this years’ theme of “Saluting Our Heroes” by doing what CHC does best − reaching out to the community.

Our entry was a great success, thanks to CHC volunteers and their families. With 20 adorable kids dressed in miniature scrubs and lab coats, we had the cutest doctors and nurses in town!
I couldn’t have pulled this off without the help of volunteer Parade Coordinator Irma Mejia! She’s a natural leader, with a “can-do” attitude that makes it fun for everyone. I owe you one, Irma!
Click here to see photos from the '07 Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Parade

CHC Provides Low-Pressure Education at Farmer's Market

CHC recently collaborated with CenCal Health (formally SBRHA) in San Luis Obispo, with their “Go Red for Women” American Heart Association Screening at the weekly SLO Farmers’ Market. Provided in honor of Women’s Health Month, the free blood pressure checks & educational information was well-received by market-goers.

[Photo L-R] Kathryn Reid (CHC), Theresa Merkle (SBRHA), Krista Morley (SBRHA), Bernadette Alexander (CHC), Paula Marie Michal (SBRHA), Steve Smith (CHC)

Educating Latina Teens at Cuesta College Summit

On January 13^th, CHC participated in Cuesta College’s “Popalotzi” Latina Summit, where 60 Chicana and Latina teens gathered to receive information, motivation and inspiration about attending college. CHC Health Educators Gloria Johnson and Cristina Sedowski provided information on Women’s Health issues, teen pregnancy and STD’s. Medical Assistant Imelda Guzman answered vocational questions about working in the medical industry. Many thanks to these ladies for taking time out of their Saturday to empower local Latinas in making informed decisions about their future.