Impact can be expressed in numbers, dollar signs, or bar graphs. But when it comes right down to it, people are at the center of UC San Francisco’s work in the community. We meet them every day – from kids who visit our mobile clinics to high school students who discover their calling in our labs to older adults who find camaraderie and song through a study on aging. Our community members are the soul of UCSF – and their wellness is what we are all about.
Warriors
In a group effort, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, its Amputee Comprehensive Training (ACT) program, the AMP1 team, and the Golden State Warriors’ camp coaches created a basketball clinic for patients with amputations and their families. Here, Deborah Bevilacqua, at left, shows Alex Moorehead how to set up for a three-point shot. Bevilacqua is a member of the ACT program, a community of amputee athletes who encourage participation in sport and help give others the courage and skills to get back to the activities they love.
Photo: Noah Berger
Photo: Noah Berger
Fresh Start
There were days when climbing the hills of Parnassus to deliver the morning’s first batch of bread to campus weren’t so easy for Bernardo Newson. His kidneys were failing and, even though his sister was willing to give up a kidney for him, his doctors at a neighboring institution left him on dialysis for 11 months instead. Once Newson made it to UCSF, our transplant team leapt into action. Nine years, one daughter, and a promotion later, Newson is ever thankful. Last time he was spotted on campus, he insisted on buying donuts for a nurse who had left her cash at home. “Any little way I can give back, I do,” says Newson. “I owe my life to this place.”
Photo: Noah Berger
Second Chances
Abigail Miller, who received a kidney transplant in 2008, and her big sister Bizzy joined 300 people gathered for UCSF’s 19th Annual Chris Mudge Pediatric Transplant Picnic to celebrate a second chance at life.
Photo: Susan Merrell
Say “Aah”
Dental student Jessica Lam coaxes 3-year-old Lucas Morales into a tentative “Aah” so she can check his teeth for cavities. This mobile clinic in the Outer Mission District is one of many run by UCSF students to help meet the health needs of at-risk populations within their own neighborhoods.
Photo: Noah Berger
Street Smarts
Mishal Durran, a San Francisco high school sophomore, worked in an immunology lab last summer as part of UCSF’s Science & Health Education Partnership (SEP). For nearly 30 years, UCSF scientists have partnered with local educators to improve K-12 science education through SEP. The summer internship program touches the lives of students who show promise but may never have considered science or even higher education. A survey of former interns who graduated from high school between 2000 and 2003 found that nearly 90 percent were pursuing graduate/professional education in the sciences.
Seniors Sing
Community of Voices is not your ordinary choir. It is a network of 12 choruses at senior centers throughout the city that is part of a study investigating the potential health benefits of being a member. After a round of songs, Study and Choir Coordinator Dana Pounds tests choir member Ruth Aviles’ balance and lower body strength. Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, UCSF neuroscientist Julene Johnson, PhD, is also looking at whether participation affects mood, loneliness, and memory.
Photo: Noah Berger
