Our own Dr. Margaret McCahill is the recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award given by the Medical Board of California to one physician in the state.  Dr. McCahill received the award this year for her "many years of outstanding service to indigent patients in San Diego County.  The committee was particularly impressed with your sending graduates of a residency training program to medically underserved areas..."  The committee goes on to say that Dr. McCahill's model of caring for the underserved is "worthy of emulation across the state."  CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. McCahill for receiving this tremendous honor... 

Dr. Searles and RecreationRx.org In the News...

 

CHULA VISTA – When Sharon Yates' arthritis flared up, she rarely left the couch. The 64-year-old Chula Vista resident was gaining weight and feeling blue, cooped up with her husband, Bud, in their mobile home.

That was until her physician, Dr. Chris Searles, handed her a new “prescription” – a free, chair-yoga class at the Norman Park Senior Center on F Street – and urged her to go.

 

Go here to read the full story in the San Diego Union-Tribune...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080124-9999-1sz24doctor.html

Making Winter a Little Warmer
UCSD Professor and Residents Reach Out to Homeless

Kim Edwards | December 3, 2007

With less than 72 hours notice, Dr. Margaret McCahill founding director of the UCSD Combined Family Medicine-Psychiatry Residency program, and a crew of dedicated volunteers helped get the city’s winter homeless shelter up and running. On Saturday, Nov. 17, in just six hours, the team screened 225 shelter guests. Two were sent to the emergency room and all other medical issues were addressed on site

“First of all, we do the right thing: we take care of everyone, immediately. If we can serve them reasonably in a clinic setting, the guests walk into the shelter with, among other things, their medications and a flu shot…and we potentially curtail emergency room visits,” said McCahill.

McCahill noted San Diego’s aging homeless population. “An aging population is more apt to have multiple medical problems. Sadly, the condition these people are in, many newly homeless, is often directly related to a lack of access to healthcare.”

McCahill’s life work is dedicated to the medical and psychiatric needs of the homeless community and those with no access to health care.

“Dr. McCahill is truly a community professor,” said Dr. Jim Dunford, professor of emergency medicine, UCSD School of Medicine, and medical director, City of San Diego. “Programs such as the combined residency program are going to be pivotal to future planning for homelessness.”

Saturday’s all-out effort included UCSD Medical Center physicians and residents; faculty members and students from the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy; students from UCSD’s Healthcare Opportunities, Preparation and Empowerment (HOPE) program; Point Loma Nazarene nursing students; and staff from the community clinic at St. Vincent de Paul Village.

Dr. Chris Searles, the Co-Director of the UCSD Combined Program and his team of combined residents will make follow up visits throughout the winter season, providing ongoing care for those who might not otherwise get medical help.

For the second year, Dr. Margaret McCahill was voted by physicians of the San Diego County Medical Society (SDCMS) as one of San Diego’s “Top Doctors for 2007.” Each year, the SDCMS polls local doctors about those they believe to be best among their peers, asking them, among other questions, “Who would you send a family member to?” in each medical specialty. The list is published annually in the October issue of San Diego Magazine 

Welcome to the New First-Year Residents!

Our Combined Residency Program looks forward to two new first-year residents joining our team in July 2007. Our two newest colleagues are:

Shayna Davis, M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York
Melissa Deer, M.D. from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine

Welcome to Shayna and Melissa!