On October 1, enrollment for the Affordable Care Act began, and since then the ups and downs of the program have occupied much of the health & wellness conversations in the media. While these conversations are important, as is creating awareness for healthcare coverage options for those that were previously denied access, the organizations in our community were incredibly active, and Sylvia and I had the opportunity to attend many of their events and meet with their leaders.

This is a recap of the places we went and the people we met. We hope that sharing our travels with you will build awareness for programs and organizations in our community and inspire others to get involved, to collaborate, and to spread the word.

Oct. 1: I had lunch with Dan Chavez, the Executive Director of the San Diego Regional Health Information Exchange. He told me about how they are connecting hospitals, clinics, County HHS, and other medical providers.

Oct. 2: I met with Dr. Sara Browne, Principal Investigator for the UC San Diego Wireless Observed Therapy (WOT) project. The project aims to determine if TB patients are more compliant with taking medications using a wireless method of ingestion tracking. Later in the day, I attended a San Diego Grantmakers board meeting to discuss charitable giving in our communities.

Oct. 4: Don Stump, CEO of North County Lifeline, hosted a meeting to discuss how community service providers can work more collaboratively in mental health services. Scott Bechtler-Levin, Executive Director of Community Information Exchange, and Aimee Zeitz of United Way were in attendance as well.

Oct. 5: I attended a Home Start’s Hallo-Wine event with Laura Mustari, Executive Director. Other community leaders came out to support the event as well. Some highlights: Patricia Sinay and John Brown of the SD Human Dignity Foundation, Dave Titus of SD Venture Partners, and Todd Kaprielian of St. Paul’s Senior Homes.

On the same day, I attended the first annual gala for Access Youth Academy (AYA) with AHF Board Trustee, Elizabeth Dreicer. The gala was hosted by Blair Sadler, Board Chair for AYA and Renato Paiva, AYA Executive Director. AYA is changing the lives of disadvantaged youth through the sport of squash, which is the conduit to college scholarships. Their four pillars include: health, leadership, community service and academics.

While I was at the Home Start and AYA events, Sylvia attended the North County Lifeline Youth Art Auction & Benefit, a fundraiser for at risk youth.  At the benefit, Executive Director Don Stump and Board Chair Jim Hagar shared stories of the challenges youth face with homelessness, mental health issues, and foster care.

Oct. 8: While Sylvia attended the San Diego Grantmakers Steering Conference Committee, I met with Anna Crotty of Mission Edge. We talked about how to effectively measure the impact nonprofits are having in our community. Later, I had lunch with Sister Tricia from Father Joe’s Villages to discuss community efforts to end homelessness.

Oct. 9: I attended a La Posada de Guadalupe open house with Catholic Charities to learn about a new homeless shelter in Carlsbad. Sylvia attended the Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy Luncheon in Southeast San Diego with AHF’s Selina Forte, Non-Profit Management Solutions Executive Director Lenore Lowe, and other leaders supporting and providing services in San Diego’s Southeast community.

Oct. 10: Sylvia and I attended a Summit Society Social event in Encinitas, an appreciation event hosted by Outdoor Outreach. This organization engages under-served youth via outdoor recreational and sports activities.

Oct. 11: Sylvia attended the San Ysidro Mobile Clinic ribbon cutting ceremony in National City with Nick Macchione, Director of the SD County Health Dept. and Fernando Sanudo from Vista Community Clinic. The event used the grand opening of the mobile clinic as an opportunity to host a health fair as well.

Oct. 12: I attended the Chief’s Gala, which was held to support the Burn Institute.

Oct. 13: I bid farewell to Kevin Keenan at his ACLU going-away party. He will be missed.

Oct. 15: I had lunch at Taverna Blue to support ElderHelp, and Sylvia—alongside many of our grantees—attended the “For Impact” Workshop at UCSD.

Oct. 16: I stopped by the Pitch & Partner event, which pairs non-profits with each other and facilitates funding support.

Oct. 17: I participated in an open house with John Fanestil of Foundation for Change and Rev. Laura Coskey of Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. Sylvia celebrated National Above the Influence Day with San Diego Youth Services and the Moyer Foundation’s Camp Mariposa, two organizations that serve children impacted by addiction.

Oct. 18: I joined Laura Mustari, CEO of Home start, and Alexis Parker, Executive Director of HomeAid, for a Home Start ribbon cutting ceremony.

Oct. 19: I joined Stan Lewis from our Board of Trustees at The San Diego LGBT’s Center 40th Anniversary Gala. Special thanks to Dr. Delores Jacobs, CEO, for the invitation.

Oct. 22: Sylvia facilitated a workshop in Spanish at the Bayside Community Center for the members of the Resident Leadership Academy. The program provided community members, mostly monolingual in Spanish, with the tools to advocate for themselves and their community on all social issues.

Oct. 23: I participated in a Ford Foundation presentation with Nick Macchione, Director Health & Human Services; Dan Chavez, Executive Director, San Diego Health Connect; Scott Bechtler-Levin, Executive Director, Community Information Exchange; and John Ohanian, CEO, 2-1-1 San Diego. This collaborative presentation explores how San Diego is using innovative technology to connect providers with information they need to be more effective and efficient in providing care in our community. Through this effort we will reduce costs, improve quality and increase capacity.

While I was at the Ford Foundation presentation, Sylvia visited the Alzheimer’s Association and met with Executive Director Caroline Harwood and her staff, Mary Ball and Shelita Weinfield.

That evening, Sylvia and I attended the Crew Rendezvous – CHIP (Community Health Improvement Partners) annual dinner with Kirsten Garrett, CEO.

Oct. 26: Sylvia attended a Crystal Ball Gala held by Casa De Amparo, an organization working to treat and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Oct. 28: I met Tonya Torosian, CEO of Promises2Kids, for lunch. We discussed her organization’s efforts create a brighter future for foster children.

Oct. 29: I participated in the Interfaith Shelter Network community listening meeting. This group is looking for community feedback about what’s working in our community. If you are interested in learning more contact Trisha Brereton, new Executive Director, attrisha@interfaithshelter.org.

Oct. 30: Sylvia and I participated in the San Diego Grantmakers Annual Conference. Later, I visited the Stop & Listen Asthma Forum in El Centro with Aide Fulton, Asthma Educator. Student groups presented on how to have a positive impact on asthma in Imperial County.

Oct. 31: Zara Marselian, CEO of La Maestra Community Clinic, met with me for lunch. We discussed her clinic’s idea of having a mobile mammography & ultrasound clinic especially for Imperial County.

Thank you to everyone that invited us to be a part of their work, and thank you to everyone who is working to make our communities healthier and happier. We are looking forward to an active November. If you would like to be involved in these meetings, events, and discussions, please email me. The more we can share our support and encourage collaboration, the more good that we can do.

Nancy L. Sasaki, Executive Director
nsasaki@alliancehf.org
Alliance Healthcare Foundation