All-Student Run FREE Health Clinic Opens in SFO-South of Market

PRLog (Press Release) - Nov 17, 2009 -
SOUTH of MARKET District, San Francisco, CA – November 17, 2009 – Mabuhay Health Center, in partnership with the South of Market Health Center, the Bayanihan Community Center, and the University of California San Francisco, will open its doors to provide FREE health care to low income and uninsured residents of the SoMa district on December 5, 2009.  The Mabuhay Health Center is a NEW community health clinic that aims to reduce the health disparities that exist within the SoMa district of San Francisco. The opening day, December 5th, has also been declared as Mabuhay Health Center Day by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the City of San Francisco.  Mabuhay Health Center is a FREE health clinic run by all health professional students from UCSF, undergraduate students from UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University, University of San Francisco, together with other community volunteers.

“The issue of health care reform is a pressing concern for our City as well as our Nation, and I am proud to be the Mayor of a City that is making strides everyday toward equitable and affordable health services for all,” said San Francisco City Mayor, Gavin Newsom.  He adds, “I commend the workers and volunteers of the Mabuhay Health Center for their hard work and commitment to improving the quality of life for the Filipino American community in San Francisco.”

The Mabuhay Health Center will hold its ribbon cutting ceremony at its location in the Bayanihan Community Center at 1010 Mission Street, San Francisco on December 5, 2009 at 2:30 to 5:00PM.   The event is open to the public.  Festivities will be highlighted by a proclamation by the Office of the Mayor of December 5th as “Mabuhay Health Center Day,” a live performance by the Parangal Dance Company, plus an array of Filipino delicacies to be served.

“’Mabuhay,’ a word derived from the Tagalog language of the Philippines, literally means ‘long live’.  It is also used to express ‘Welcome,’ or ‘Greetings,’ and as a way of showing hospitality,” says Alvin Teodoro, Founder and Executive Director of the Mabuhay Health Center.   He adds, “By establishing the Mabuhay Health Center, we not only hope to offer a welcoming space for this medically marginalized community but to also provide culturally sensitive care, particularly for the Filipino community that has much more limited services compared to other ethnic groups in the city.” A fourth year medical student at the UCSF School of Medicine, Alvin immigrated to the Bay Area from the Philippines at a very young age. He always had a dream of becoming a physician and helping the underserved. With the interprofessional resources of medical, pharmacy, nursing, and dental students within UCSF, as well as students from nearby universities, he hopes to provide much needed services to San Francisco’s SoMA district - home to one of the largest Filipino immigrant communities in the US.

The Mabuhay Health Center will also allow visitors to preview the clinic and its services on opening day. Free clinic services include health screenings, vaccine clinics, medication therapy management, health education, and individualized patient care. With a lack of published health data about Filipino Americans (the 2nd largest group of US permanent residents), Mabuhay Health Center will also conduct research studies in order to better examine the health issues and chronic diseases affecting this community. Mabuhay Health Center will run free clinics every second Saturday of the month, starting January 9, 2010, from 8:00AM to 3:30PM at the Bayanihan Community Center.

The Mabuhay Health Center is an all-student run endeavor supervised by Dr. Jennifer Cocohoba, Clinical Pharmacist and Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF, and Dr. Ron Labuguen, Physician and Associate Clinical Professor at UCSF.

About Mabuhay Health Center:
The Mabuhay Health Center aims to bridge the gap between South of Market residents and various health care providers in San Francisco, as well as improve the health of the predominantly low-income residents in this area.   By providing free, ongoing monthly services including health screenings, medication therapy management, and health education seminars, Mabuhay Health Center hopes to promote a healthier lifestyle among SOMA residents.  http://rco.ucsf.edu/index.php/mhc