Check out the letter I submitted to the Health Commission urging them to advise the SF Board of Supes to stop CPMC (Sutter) from this action. The address is there, if you feel compelled to weigh in on the issue. If you’re in the city today, the Health Commission hearing is today and there is another one coming June 16 at 2:00 pm. Speak up!

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May 19, 2009

Department of Public Health
Health Commission
101 Grove Street, room 308
San Francisco, CA 94102

RE: Sutter/CPMC Charity Service Cancellations

To the Health Commission:

I am shocked and saddened to hear that charity service programs such as Touro University’s osteopathic clinic and student training are being canceled. There has been a justifiably angry outcry against this move from the doctors offering these services as well as from the students who have an unparalleled opportunity to learn in the hospital setting, not to mention patients benefiting from these free services.

It is for services like these that Sutter/CPMC has been granted non-profit status. As such, they have a responsibility to answer the real needs of the community. How can they hope to expand and create big, new hospitals such as that proposed for Cathedral Hill without protecting charity programs for facilities already in existence? If Sutter/CPMC wishes to function like a for-profit company, then they should be stripped of their non-profit status.

My child has been a patient of the osteopathic training program with Drs. Cislo and McCombs, DO, through Touro University at St. Luke’s, one of the Sutter/CPMC hospitals. My son’s health has improved dramatically from his care there over the past two years. He was successfully treated through natural, hands-on osteopathic methods from symptoms that his pediatrician claimed couldn’t be helped. At each visit, a room full of students got to share the joy of my boy’s improved health and comfort. Real learning happened and real confidence in natural osteopathic care was instilled in each of us. It is a beautiful program–not only for us, but for many other families who may not be able to find the same quality services due to financial constraints.

Ours was a simple story of good health turning great, but I know that for other patients participating in that program, it has been a story life or death. That is, I am told that some patients are literally kept alive through Touro’s free program. What happens to these patients if the care is stripped?

This is yet another insult in a long line of charity service cancellations. Guided by Sutter/CPMC, the “new” St. Luke’s has already cut many badly needed services in favor of more profitable programs. Consider the impact our community has suffered already: the loss of the entire psychiatric care unit, the loss of neo-natal intensive care, the loss of much-needed SNF beds, the loss of the heart of the maternity ward which was once famous for its commitment to women-centered, safe, demedicalized birth. Now, charity osteopathic medicine has had its final day.

Please listen to the opinions of the hospital doctors and nurses. Let people who took the Hippocratic Oath guide the hospital’s direction. They know what is best for their patients, not the money guys.  Please advise the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to keep Touro’s and other charity programs alive, otherwise they must revoke Sutter/CPMC’s non-profit status.

Sincerely,
Sri Lalita

During pregnancy, emphasis is given to being ready for the “big day” when a woman gives birth to her child. Books guide parents in creating birth plans, classes offer methods to cope with the labor and delivery process and doulas can be hired to lend a helping hand. But what happens next?

In this workshop, Sri Lalita will discuss the common features of this time and guide new parents through a list of essentials every mom will want to make the postpartum period an easier, healthy transition. Healing teas, recipes, herbs and sitz bath teas will be discussed. Strategies for promoting optimal recovery for the postpartum mom will be offered. In addition, information about teas and salves to support milk production will be covered.

New Moms, Moms-to-be, partners and birth professionals are encouraged to attend. Contact Yoga Mandala at 510. 486.1989 to pre-register.

Location: Yoga Mandala
2807 Telegraph Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Date: Sunday, February 15, 2009
Time:  10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (with a break for lunch)
Contact: 510.486.1989

Have you ever noticed that adults—especially seasoned parents-–have a tendency to lean toward one another and knowingly comment on a given child’s behavior with, “Oh, he’s at that age.” The remarkable thing is that this observation can be made at any age at all, no matter what. In fact, as the parent of a toddler, I can definitively say that my child is, at present, at that age right now. Come to think of it, that age was preceded by another that age, which was marked by different humorous, cute and/or irritating habits and activities. There was another before that as well and so on. No doubt, that age will be following this one. I’m still pretty new to parenting, but I’m catching on.

For instance, as my toddler begins to speak more and with increasing accuracy, such that even strangers might be able to comprehend him at times, I see that that age can be very revealing as to how my child views reality. As a constant mimic of every word and deed to which he is exposed, he is laying down patterns for what he perceives as normal behavior and modes of expression in the world.

Sometimes, that is embarrassing. Just this week, he mastered the pronunciation of my favorite curse word (which starts with ‘s’) and then he used it with appropriate timing in public. That was funny.

His newfound control of his body brings about a wonderful opportunity to glimpse his ideas, since almost everything he thinks is immediately expressed as he tries out gestures actions and new words. Though I celebrate his widening ability to explore the world and the enhanced interface with it that every developmental leap affords, I also catch greater insight into my responsibility as a mother. Are my actions—which he constantly copies—positive stimuli for growth?

The fun part is that his mimicry inspires me with a desire to grow. When we get down on the living room floor for what he calls ‘om-ies’, it is fun to see him giggling, awkwardly trying yoga postures with a big smile spread across his face. And today, as we were driving home from the grocery store, I caught him in the mirror sitting in his car seat, repeatedly chanting om and contorting his hands into play-mudras. He was just having fun, doing what he deems normal.

Watching him play at these yoga activities made me want to go home and practice. I know that the more he witnesses ‘om-ies’, the more he will learn that opening the channels to reinforce using the body in an integrated way is an indispensable daily activity. He will regard it as fun and will experience how yoga helps bring that sense of integration into other aspects of life. Though I am his teacher now, watching his experimentation fires up my desire to be a better student.

I understand that that age is just a series of learning opportunities. In fact, I believe I’m at that age myself and always will be.