Press Releases: Southern California
May 26, 2010
Medical Students Committed to Providing Care in Underserved Communities Receive Kaiser Permanente Scholarships
PASADENA Calif. — Twelve medical students who have demonstrated their commitment to providing high-quality and culturally-responsive care to Southern California’s diverse patient population have been awarded the 2010 Kaiser Permanente Southern California Oliver Goldsmith, MD, Scholarship. Many of the recipients are bilingual — Spanish, Armenian, Korean, Tagalog, and Mandarin — and attend local medical schools. The diverse group will participate in a mentoring program with a Kaiser Permanente clinician, complete a 4–6 week clinical rotation at a Kaiser Permanente facility, and receive a $5,000 scholarship to continue their education. Established in 2004, the program has awarded 65 scholarships for a total of $325,000 in community benefit funds to assist medical students.
Attending the May 20 award event are (back row from left) Manuel Campa; Salmuel Phang; David Larson; Keven Izquierdo; Oliver Goldsmith, MD former SCPMG medical director; Andrew Wai; Jeffrey Weisz, MD, executive medical director, SCPMG; Maria Carrasco, MD, regional phusician lead, Culturally Competent care, SCPMG; and Lawrence Lipana. Seated from left: Marizabel Orellana; Lynne Change; Brooke Vuong; Rachel Rosenheck; Nayiri Gharibian; and Yelba Castellon.
“We are proud to honor young doctors who achieve academically and go the extra mile by contributing their time and expertise to the community,” said Jeffrey Weisz, MD, executive medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, and creator of the scholarship program. “We salute them for being a part of our Kaiser Permanente community benefit mission, extending themselves beyond our doors to deliver what everyone deserves, high quality care.”
This year’s awardees have demonstrated a commitment to diversity through community service, clinical volunteering, and research. The Oliver Goldsmith, MD Scholarships for the Promotion and Advancement of Culturally Responsive Care have been presented to:
- Manuel Campa, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, University of California, Los Angeles;
- Yelba Castellon, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science, UCLA;
- Lynne Chang, David Geffen School of Medicine,UCLA;
- Nayiri Gharibian, Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific;
- Kevin Izquierdo, University of California, Riverside/UCLA Thomas Haider Program;
- David Larson, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California;
- Lawrence Lipana, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine;
- Marizabel Orellana, University of California, Riverside/UCLA Thomas Haider Program;
- Samuel Phang, Keck School of Medicine, USC;
- Rachel Rosenheck, Keck School of Medicine, USC;
- Brooke Vuong, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine;
- Andrew Wai, Loma Linda University, School of Medicine.
One example of these outstanding medical students is awardee Lawrence Lipana, who migrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1992. He grew up in Los Angeles but now resides in Sacramento. Lipana is a second year student at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, and is pursuing a career in Family Medicine. He is fluent in Tagalog.
As president of the Filipino Americans in Medicine organization since 2008, Lipana has provided mentorship for UC Davis undergraduates, coordinated community health events, and has volunteered at a student-operated clinic. Lipana is also the president of the Christian Medical Fellowship, and as part of that group, he arranged and accompanied a team of 40 students, doctors, nurses, and dentists to visit six clinic sites in Honduras where they treated more than 1,200 patients.
The Goldsmith Scholarship is named after Oliver Goldsmith, MD, who retired as the medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in 2003, and during his tenure, made several significant contributions that promoted diversity and culturally responsive care throughout the Kaiser Permanente Southern California region. Kaiser Permanente continues to expand Dr. Goldsmith’s initiatives to ensure that physicians are prepared to meet the clinical, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients.
Download brief profiles of the 12 Kaiser Permanente Oliver Goldsmith, MD, Scholarship program awardees.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s leading integrated health plans. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region includes more than 55,800 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,400 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at www.kaiserpermanente.org.
