SDCMS Foundation Wins Statewide Award
The San Diego County Medical Society Foundation will be awarded the 2011 Adarsh S. Mahal, MD, Access to Healthcare and Disparities Award at CMA’s annual conference and CMA Foundation dinner on Sunday, Oct. 16 for its work in addressing the unmet healthcare needs of uninsured patients throughout San Diego County.
Through its flagship program, Project Access San Diego, the SDCMS Foundation has assisted more than 900 uninsured patients to receive specialty medical care through its network of volunteer physicians, hospitals, surgery centers, and other ancillary services since the program’s initiation in 2009. Project Access patients are low-income adults who have no access to private health insurance through their employers, and are not eligible for public health benefits, such as Medi-Cal or CMS.
Of San Diego County’s 3.2 million residents, approximately 415,000 non-elderly adults are uninsured and seek primary healthcare at one of the area’s 90 community health clinic sites; these clinics are most often unable to provide access to specialty care except through Project Access. Extremely limited access to specialty care has been identified by the County of San Diego as a major challenge in the community.
The SDCMS Foundation addresses these needs through a proven model that includes case management, which benefits the specialty physician, primary care provider, and patient. “Our volunteer physicians are thrilled to be able to give back to the community, know there is thorough follow-up with the patient’s medical home, and feel supported in their efforts,” says Stuart Cohen, MD, SDCMS Foundation board president. “We appreciate the recognition of CMA with this prestigious honor.”
James T. Hay, MD, incoming CMA president, founded Project Access San Diego in 2008 as SDCMS Foundation president at the time, based on his research of similar programs throughout the country. There are 50 access programs in the nation, each with a slightly different operational model. Currently, 583 volunteer physicians, nine hospital systems, and 11 surgery centers provide care and donated services totaling more than $3 million to date.