Nutrition, Diet, and the Real World - Barriers to Changing Habits

This is an interesting article in the NYT, "Teaching Doctors About Nutrition and Diet," about the role a physician can and should play in a discussion about nutrition and diet with patients.  Of course, this discussion takes on a very different slant when your patient is homeless and eating wherever and whatever they can and can't necessarily control their diet.  At St. Vincent de Paul we work in a unique environment in that the sheltered patients and many of our homeless and unsheltered patients are able to get their meals from our cafeteria (which provides over 1500 meals per day).  When physicians can connect not just with the patient that chooses their food, but the source that provides the food in the first place (the built environment around the patient) then the power of the physicians role to reinforce healthy behaviors is maximized. 

Read the article here

Visit St. Vincent de Paul Village here

Congratulations to Dr. Lamb on Her Fellowship to the San Diego Psychoanalytic Institute...

Our own Dr. Kristy Lamb is one of the first participants of the San Diego Psychoanalytic Society and Institute's (SDPSI) new one-year Fellowship for mental health clinicians interested in psychoanalytic thinking and its application to clinical work.  The fellowship includes personal mentorship, monthly seminars, and free admission to SDPSI public events.  Fantastic!

Learn More about the SDPSI...

San Diego's homeless population is a complex mix - SignOnSanDiego.com

"Not every homeless person pushes a shopping cart full of clothes, blankets and second-hand possessions. Not all are haggard, drunk and smelly. Not everyone is an adult, and some choose to stay on the streets..."  In the Combined Program one of the first things we learn is that when you've seen one homeless person..  you've seen one homeless person.  This is a nice article in the local paper. 

Read on...

Poverty Rate Rose Sharply in 2009 Which Means We Have More To Do With Less

The New York Times recently published another reminder of the challenges we face as our economy slowly grinds along and poverty rates rise.  Times are certainly challenging for families and individuals, but also for the organizations and non-profits that are struggling to meet the ever increasing demand for health and social services with far fewer resources than they've ever had.  Health disparities follow closely behind poverty and now more than ever an integrated approach to health care that focuses on the underserved and their unique risks is needed.  The Combined Program works to meet this need... 

Click here to read the full article

Click Here to see and interactive "Poverty Map" of the United States

Click Here to read how the San Diego Union Tribune spins the data locally.

Dr. Lamb's Article on Bereavement and Depression On Its Way to a Journal Club Near You!

Congratulations to our own Dr. Kristy Lamb who recently published "The Bereavement Exclusion for the Diagnosis of Major Depression: To be, or not to be." in Psychiatry 2010. 

Click here to read more...