By Antonia Ehlers
Laura Garibay, a Bay Area homemaker, suffered intense pain for years from a hernia. Her prayers were answered on Saturday, when she finally got a free hernia repair surgery through Operation Access at the Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center. Laura will be able to resume her normal activities in just two weeks.
“Laura is so grateful, and her life will be forever impacted by her hernia repair surgery,” said Operation Access Program Manager Marilyn Sanchez. “Through our incredible partnership with Kaiser Permanente, Operation Access has become a leader in medical volunteerism by providing timely care, reducing emergency department visits, and improving health outcomes for our entire community.”
Operation Access coordinates with 86 medical facilities – including Kaiser Permanente medical centers – to provide no-cost care to people in need. On March 1, more than 80 Kaiser Permanente Richmond physicians, nurses and staff members volunteered their time to provide free medical procedures – two gall bladder removals, four hernia repairs and 11 colonoscopies/endoscopies.
“We at Kaiser Permanente Richmond are so proud to support Operation Access by offering essential surgical care and gastroenterology screening procedures for patients in need,” said Kaiser Permanente Richmond Physician in Chief John Morehouse, MD. “This is an important part of our ongoing commitment to improving the health of the communities we serve.”
In addition to providing the no-cost care, a $180,000 grant from a Kaiser Permanente fund at the East Bay Community Foundation is supporting Operation Access’ Donated Surgical and Specialty Care program. During its 30-year-long partnership with Operation Access, Kaiser Permanente has provided 13,789 surgeries and other specialty care procedures to people who are uninsured in Northern California.
Kaiser Permanente East Bay General Surgeon Aaron Baggs, MD, volunteers with Operation Access every year.
“When our health care providers volunteer on Super Saturdays, we provide critical health care services for people in our community,” he said. “I always enjoy volunteering with my colleagues to help our local neighbors in need. It’s a privilege to participate in this effort with Operation Access.”
This report was submitted for publication by Kaiser Permanente of Northern California.
