Clinic Clips
COUNTRY DOCTOR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS
Volume 5, Issue 4
April 2012
Executive Director’s Report
Linda McVeigh
What does it mean when a
residency site – in its
infancy – gets many more
than 700 applications from
HIGHLY QUALIFIED
medical students looking
for an exceptional family
medicine residency
program? When the same
residency site matches with
the “cream of the crop” –
for three years in a row!
The Carolyn Downs Family
Medical Center is that
residency program. Only in
its third year this coming
July, when we will finally
have our full complement
of 6 residents for the first
time, the CDFMC residency
program has grown rapidly into one of the star
family medicine residency
programs in the country.
residency to meet the
needs of the residents,
adding a geriatric
assessment clinic in
mid-2011 to better
round out the residents
patient care
experience, helping to
develop a grant
proposal that would
fund the teaching
colposcopy needed for
training purposes, and
making sure that the
residency continues to
get the attention it
needs from the
Leadership Team and
the Board of Directors.
As we reviewed the
credentials of the
candidates on Match Night,
I was struck by their smarts,
their volunteer experience,
and their clear commitment
to providing access to
health care for all,
regardless of ability to
pay. I was also reassured
by the fact that there
clearly is yet another
generation coming up
quickly who will carry on
the work begun by people
in this community more
than 40 years ago.
In my mind this success is
attributable to several key
factors:


It means that we chose
wisely when selecting
the residency program
we work with. The
Swedish Cherry Hill
Family Medicine
Residency is a top
residency program
with exceptional
leadership, Dr. Sam
Cullison.
It means that we
similarly chose wisely
when we selected our
Residency Site Director, Carrie Rubenstein.
Carrie has put HUGE
effort into crafting this

It means that Carrie
has recruited and
supported skilled
preceptors from
among the physician
staff at CDFMC to
work with the residents
when they are seeing
patients. One of the
often harsh facts of life
related to residency
programs is that they
often cost the health
center money in the
form of lost
productivity. Recent
analysis indicates that
this is not the case with
the CDFMC residency.
The productivity/
Special Points of Interest:

RESIDENCY PROGRAM AT
CDCHC

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

EXTRA MILE RECOGNITION

SPOTLIGHT ON…
THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT
revenue lost from
precepting MDs is
almost exactly
balanced by the
productivity/revenue
generated by the
CDFMC residents.

It means that the
support that Carrie
and the current residents need from
everyone at CDFMC is
there. CDFMC staff
has been patient with
the craziness of the
residents’ schedules,
with having to orient
the residents to a new
clinic, different forms,
and another electronic
ConƟnues on page 2
Clinic Clips
Medical Director’s Report
Rich Kovar, M.D.
ExecuƟve Director’s Report,
conƟnued from page 1
As you are all aware, we
train a large number and
variety of students and
residents at our health
centers. The trainees range
from high school up through
post-graduate residency
training. In fact, we do far
more than any health
center I am aware of
anywhere to try to address
the future primary care
provider shortage that is
looming in this country. It is
always good to reflect on
the positive impact we
have on students. I wanted
to share a neat positive
comment made by one of
our recent third year
medical students who
rotated through the Country
Doctor Clinic site. This came
out in their evaluation after
the clerkship was over. It
health record system.
Everyone has been so
very welcoming,
competent, and
diligent about
providing Alyssa,
Jessica, Jamie, and
Amy a positive
experience, they can
speak enthusiastically
about CDFMC to
perspective residents.
But most important of all,
it means that when the
prospective residents
toured CDFMC sometime
between November and
Page 2
could have just as easily
been the Carolyn Downs
site. The thing I love about
the comment is that there
are no names, no heroes,
just care management
teams doing their best to
take care of whoever
comes our way, regardless of illness, culture,
income status or any other
variable. Strong work!!
The question: “What was
the most worthwhile aspect
of this clerkship for you?”
The answer: “The ingenious
way the clinic coordinated
excellent care for underserved patients taught me
what family medicine is
suppose to be and can be.
Before my rotation,
classmates told me Family
Medicine was boring
February, in that brief 30
minutes when they were
scrutinizing us as a
possible place where
they’d spend the next 3
years of their lives, they
were welcomed by
everyone, they observed
the respectful way
patients are treated, and
they were excited by
possibly becoming part of
the CDFMC patient care
team. To the resident
candidates, CDFMC felt
like a good place to get
health care, and to learn
because any interesting
case in FM was always
referred out. At this clinic
treating complex diseases
was commonplace, HIV
management was superb,
and providers daily put
their thinking caps on to
develop excellent medical
care that was culturally
appropriate and costeffective. At the end of
the rotation I knew what I
wanted to do with my
medical career. I loved
seeing the role of
physician as patient
advocate. The patient
population I was working
with confirmed my desire
to work with underserved
populations”.
Wow!!
how to be a good health
care provider.
This is very much how we
want our patients to feel
when they walk in the
clinic…warm, welcomed,
respected, and safe.
THANK YOU to everyone
at the CDFMC site; the
residency program is truly
a significant accomplishment that would not be as
successful as it is without
your support.
Residency Program at CDFMC
Carrie Rubenstein, M.D.
Residency Site Director
As the Residency Site
Director, my role is to
recruit, supervise, and
direct the training of the
Swedish —Cherry Hill
residents who choose
Carolyn Downs as their outpatient training clinic. Each
year a tremendous amount
of work is done to recruit
the next class.
I couldn’t be more pleased
with our “match” this year.
Beginning in July 2012,
Chinyere Obimba and
Laura Morgan will join our
current group of excellent
resident physicians, Alyssa
Barto, Jessica Cowan, Amy
Potter, and Jamie Phifer.
Chinyere Obimba, M.D.
Harvard University
Laura Morgan, M.D.
University of Washington
Alyssa Barto, M.D.
Let me have them introduce
themselves!
Chinyere Obimba
Hi, my name is Chinyere!
I’m originally from just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, but I spent my last 5
years living in Boston, MA,
for medical school. I spent
time working with the Latino
community in Ann Arbor
and the greater Boston
area, and in the Dominican
Republic and Brazil
working on public healthrelated projects. I also
spent a year at public
health school, learning
about the social
determinants of health and
Jessica Cowan, M.D.
Laura Morgan
falling in love with
community health centers. I
always intended to move
out West, though my
excitement about this
program brought me a little
farther north than I first
expected. I’m excited
about the move and, in
particular, excited to have
a chance to work and learn
at Carolyn Downs. With this
clinic and Country Doctor’s
rich history within this
community, I see this as the
perfect place to complete
my training.
My medical interests lie in
community health, especially in the context of minority
and immigrant populations,
and maternal-child health,
among many other
extraneous things...like
adolescents and transitionage youth with developmental disabilities. I am
honored to be part of your
family and I hope that I am
of good service to my new
community as I learn from
your all. If anyone is
interested in Afro-Brazilian
culture, music and dance,
let me know! I’m also into
cooking, creative writing,
reading and singing. I look
forward to meeting you all
and learning how to be
outdoorsy in Seattle!
Amy Potter, M.D.
My name is Laura Morgan
and I was born and raised
here in Seattle in the
Capitol Hill area. I even
went to school just down the
street from Carolyn Downs
at Garfield High School!
I have wanted to be a
doctor as long as I can
remember. I grew up
following my mother the
pediatrician around, and
wanting to be just like her.
My own path into medicine
has led me down some
surprising roads including 5
years spent working as an
EMT, medical trips to Bosnia
and Israel, rural health
work in Colorado and the
Washington peninsula, as
well as work in Seattle’s
underserved communities
over the past 4 years.
I believe in Family Medicine
and see it as a positive
vehicle for change even
beyond the exam room. I
am particularly excited to
continue my training at
CDFMC because I have
spent time volunteering for
this organization throughout my medical training
and am incredibly fond of
the dedicated and
passionate minds that come
together to make this place
run. I look forward to the
opportunity to serve this
community over the next
several years.
Jamie Phifer, M.D.
Clinic Clips
Development Director’s Report
Emily Bader
New clinic photos are
available! Many of you
have been asking about
updated photos of clinic life
and I’ll admit they were
needed. Photographer
Andrew Waits and I were at
Country Doctor last week and
at Carolyn Downs this week.
We got some great shots.
Let me know if you need
pictures and of any particular
theme/demographic, such as
babies or seniors. We tried
hard to capture the diversity
of our patients and staff.
I talked about it at staff
meetings but a reminder is
just that; a reminder.
Give BIG (or give smaller);
regardless of the amount,
your gift to CDCHC will be
matched on May 2
(midnight to midnight) by
the Seattle Foundation! Go
to the site on May 2 only.
The process is easy!
Maybe there’s a friend,
neighbor, relative, colleague
who’s talked about making a
donation to Country Doctor
but didn’t think their gift was
large enough; this is the
perfect time to do so!
Regardless of that individual
gift, CDCHC will receive
more than the value of that
person’s gift.
Usually these campaigns are
aimed only at those making
larger donations.
NOT Give BIG on May 2.
The more CDCHC receives as
a total (not as an individual
gift) the higher is the Seattle
Foundation’s match.
Total Win Win!
And thank you.
Cheers,
Go to the Give BIG website on Wednesday, May 2nd!
http://www.seattlefoundation.org/npos/Pages/CountryDoctor.aspx.
April Birthdays
Page 4
1st
Richard Prasad
11th
Maria Saucedo
2nd
Renee Ragaza-Miller
15th
Lindsay Rowlands
7th
Deanne Zink
26th
Jason Fink
9th
Yibing Wang
27th
Zerai Terfe
9th
Jodie Wohl
28th
Blanca Ruiz
Volume 5, Issue 4
The Extra Mile Club
We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.
~Herman Melville
A determined, focused
group of Extra Milers at
CDCC receive appreciation
for their teamwork this
month. They are nominated
by Sarah Johnson, Director
of Operations at CDCHC,
who writes, “...to Cissy
Neal, PAR, Tila Green,
Operations Assistant &
PAR, Sharon Fast, MA,
Danielle Coutts, MA, and
Elizabeth Garza, MA, for
jumping in to help cover a
backlog of Medical
Records work. Their
willingness, helpfulness, and
wonderfully positive
“can-do” spirit made a
HUGE difference on a
tough day at CDCC. We
could not have done it
without them on this day!!!”
Patricia Romo-Herrera,
Patient Accounts Rep, at
CDFMC, is nominated by
Lisa Edwards and Gloria
Alvarado. They write, “On
March 19th, Patricia ended
up being the only billing
staff member in the office
for the whole day. Patricia
dealt with numerous
patients on the phone and
in-person, answering billing
questions and processing
patient payments. She even
came back early from lunch
to help a walk-in patient
who had questions about
her bill. Patricia maintained
a great attitude and never
complained about being
the only one available to
help our patients with their
billing issues.”
Hong Chau T. Tran, Triage
RN, at CDCC, is nominated
by Helen Weiss. Helen
writes, “When an evening
patient of Cameron’s
required translation
services and her MA was
swamped discharging and
rooming patients, Chau
stayed way past her
assigned hours to facilitate
simultaneous translation for
patient and provider!”
CISSY NEAL
TILA GREEN
SHARON FAST
DANIELLE COUTTS
ELIZABETH GARZA
PATRICIA ROMOHERRERA
CHAU TRAN
MAHVASH DOW
Mahvash Dow, Medical
Technologist at CDCC, is
nominated by Cyndi Moe,
Lab Tech at CDFMC. Cyndi
writes, “Mahvash agreed to
work on her normal day off
so I could attend a CME
when we’re already short
one tech due to vacation.
Mahvash also did this
during Thanksgiving 2011,
so two lab employees could
be off on Friday. Thank you
for your flexibility,
Mahvash!”
Thank you all who display
such exceedingly
cooperative and self-less
acts for the benefit of
CDCHC.
Page 5
Clinic Clips
SPOTLIGHT ON...
CDCHC’s Finance Department
“Billing Staff” includes Maria Saucedo, Lala (Oralia) Brown (front
row); Back row: Otto Soberanis, Zaide Kamp, Quy Tran, and
Patricia Romo-Herrera (not pictured: Susana Tantico)
Meet the congenial staff of
the Finance Department! They
are ready to greet you with
smiles and determined to
make your day a little
brighter.
Susana Tantico leads the way
with confidence and trust in
her staff. They respond by
working independently,
efficiently, and assuredly with
patients, insurance companies,
other medical organizations,
auditors, and staff members.
Their work is most often very
detailed — double-checking
services, patient charges,
payments, and our time
sheets.
For Otto and Patricia,
helping our patients is their
greatest joy. Otto works with
insurance companies and
helps patients with their
billing. Patricia began her
“Finance Staff” includes (from left): Gloria Alvarado, Maria
Saucedo, and Lisa Edwards (not pictured: Susana Tantico)
work at CDCHC at the Front
Desk and then as an MA; she
misses the patient contact, but
has enjoyed learning the “flip
side” of working at CDCHC.
Lala likes resolving patient’s
bills (she likened her work to a
detective’s!) — the more
troublesome the problem, the
more fun she has. Zaide and
Quy are certified coders. They
like the variety of her daily
work, and feel good about how
their focus on capturing charges
benefits CDCHC.
Gloria is given the title,
“Everyone’s Favorite Person (on
payday)”, but she humbly
shrugs it off. Her warm smile
beams when she talks of her
interactions with the CDCHC
staff.
Lisa is our Staff Accountant and
works with Susana and Gloria
on a variety of financial
responsibilities. She and
Gloria work well together and
the camaraderie shows.
Maria is our most
recognizable face of the
Finance Department, due to
her friendly manner when she
delivers interoffice mail on a
daily basis. She describes her
work as “here and there”,
meaning she assists both teams
(billing and finance) along
with helping Shonnie Noma in
QI.
But for all of them, it is the
teamwork in the Finance
department for which they are
most grateful. The leadership
of Susana provides this
characteristic to grow and
develop with her staff. It
shows in their consistent,
cheerful, and dependable
service to our patients and to
their fellow staff members.