San Diego's "Top Docs 2012" Include 5 UCSD Combined Alumni

Each year, San Diego Magazine publishes a list of the best physicians in San Diego, as voted on by their peers. The 2012 list is out, and once again we are proud to have several of our alumni on the list! Congratulations to Dr. Dave Folsom, Dr. Roy Samorano, Dr. Katie Hirst, Dr. Gabe Rodarte, and Dr. Kai MacDonald! Their outstanding patient care and the distinctive leadership they each provide at the intersection of family medicine and psychiatry have been recognized by their colleagues.

Our combined residents are also fortunate to work with many UCSD faculty and community physicians who were also recognized as 2012 Top Docs. Drs Dan Slater, Lisa Wastila, Jennifer Wu, Tony Lopez, Lori Brown, Margaret McCahill, and Marianne McKennett all regularly precept or supervise our combined residents in clinic at St. Vincent de Paul. At least 20 other attendings who teach our residents on inpatient, outpatient, and sub-specialty rotations were also named Top Docs.

Congratulations to all the 2012 Top Docs! Our UCSD combined residents feel so lucky to have such talented teachers, mentors, and role models!

See the full list of 2012 Top Docs here.

Dr. David Folsom to present at National Healthcare for the Homeless Council conference in SD

Dr. David Folsom, the training director of the combined program and medical director of our clinic at St. Vincent de Paul, will present at a national conference on Healthcare for the Homeless on Saturday, September 8 in San Diego. Dr. Folsom will be discussing our clinic's experiences as the "medical home" for clients of Project 25, a multi-agency collaboration which has targeted interventions with homeless individuals who are the highest utilizers of medical care in San Diego County. Presenting with Dr. Folsom will be Project 25 director Marc Stevenson, Kris Kuntz, and Marilyn Stenoien of St Vincent de Paul Village.

Project 25, a "housing-first" initiative, has already demonstrated significant savings to the County in its first year of operation. The program was recently honored by the San Diego County Taxpayer's Association with a Public-Private Partnership Award. Our combined family medicine & psychiatry residents have the honor of providing the bulk of the outpatient psychiatric and primary care for Project 25 clients, within our "medical home" model at our clinic. In addition to the satisfaction of serving those in the greatest need, this has provided a great learning opportunity for our residents; they are able to apply the unique skill set of the combined physician to address the severe medical, psychiatric, and substance disorders in a truly integrated fashion. They also gain experience collaborating with patients' case managers, outreach nurses, and others to help provide true wrap-around services and do "whatever it takes" to meet Project 25 clients wherever they are, literally and figuratively.

Find out more about the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council conference here.

August Combo Newsletter is out!

Our August issue of the program newsletter is hot off the presses! Click over to our Newsletter page to check it out. This month: Project 25 success, our program outing to the Padres game, and a glimpse of what "combos" do in our free time.

State commission recognizes UCSD Combined residency's track record in underserved care

The UCSD Combined Family Medicine & Psychiatry Residency recently received high praise from the state of California's Song-Brown Commission for our work with the underserved.

The Song-Brown Commission is a CA state commission that funds family medicine residency programs. The areas of priority for this commission are:

1. Training residents to care for underserved patients

2. Successfully sending program graduates to work in underserved areas after training

3. Recruiting under-represented minority medical students to family medicine residencies

At the recent statewide meeting of the Commission, 24 Family Medicine Residency programs were presented, including many top programs in the state that train residents in underserved settings.

The Commission was very impressed at the high quality of our residents, their dedication for working in a challenging environment, and the success our program has had in placing our graduates in FQHCs and other clinics.

At the end of the meeting, all of the programs were ranked according to how well they are achieving the goals of the Song-Brown Commission, and we are proud and honored that the UCSD Combined Family Medicine Psychiatry Residency was ranked #1. Thank you to the entire family of "combos," both current residents and alumni, for your passion and commitment to service.

San Diego's Project 25 is a success--and combined residents play an important role!

San Diego's Project 25 is a "housing first" initiative which represents a collaboration between 22 community organizations to address chronic homelessness. The program identified the 25 people in San Diego who had accrued the highest total cost to the county for emergency medical services, law enforcement, and other costs, and helped them get into stable housing, substance treatment, and regular medical care.

The St Vincent de Paul Village clinic was selected to become the "medical home" for most of these individuals, and our UCSD combined residents & faculty are proud to work closely with these patients and the Project 25 staff to address their complex medical and psychiatric illnesses. One year into this program, leaders have been able to demonstrate significant cost savings to the county, but more importantly, we have witnessed amazing changes in many lives. Local media recently reported on the positive impact of Project 25:

http://m.kpbs.org/news/2012/apr/10/does-project-25-save-san-diego-money/