Alameda Health System – Highland Hospital

Contact Person: George K. Lee, OD, Director of Community Services

Clinical Teaching Faculty: Kuniyoshi Kanai, OD, kunikanai@berkeley.edu

Type of Practice: Community Health Center

Overview

Highland General Hospital is part of the Alameda Health Systems (AHS) Ambulatory Health Care Services network. The Alameda Health Systems is a public agency regulated by the State of California, though directed by a Board of Trustees. AHS’s primary mission is to provide health care to all County residents, regardless of ability to pay. This facility has been providing health care services to the residents of the East Bay for well over 130 years. Additionally it is a training institution for many health care students, residents, interns, and is active in medical research. There are several hospitals and health centers that form the network of AHS. Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro is part of the hospital system. Additionally there are several Ambulatory Health Care Services centers that serve the community. These are the Eastmont Wellness Center in Oakland, Central Health Center in Oakland, Winton Wellness Center in Hayward and the Newark Health Center in Newark.

Highland General Hospital

Highland General Hospital is a multi-disciplinary health care organization with 32 different specialty clinics that manage well over 100,000 patient visits annually, while many medical residents are in training. Optometry Services began in January 2012, which is provided through an affiliation between AHS and the University of California, School of Optometry.

Prerequisites:

• 4^th year clinicians: satisfactory completion of 3rd year clinics
• 3^rd year clinicians: satisfactory completion of summer clinic and honor status

Demographics:

• Mix of patients from newborn to the elderly
• Primarily East Bay residents
• Large African American and Hispanic population
• Low income, county and medi-cal patients

Patient Services Provided:

• Optometry services will be provided on Saturdays
• Hours are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Primarily young adults and older, majority being adults and seniors with diabetes and cataracts; patients may be self appointed, but most are referred by other health care providers from either Highland General Hospital or one of the affiliate ambulatory health centers.
• Full scope optometry care, limited to examination services only at this time.

Optometry Clinic:

• There are four fully-equipped exam rooms and two smaller rooms set up for auxiliary testing such as visual field testing. Additionally, there is a fourth room with photography and OCT set-ups.
• The AHS staff will check in optometry patients. Patients are escorted to and from Optometry rooms by our own team.
• Patients are scheduled every 30 minutes for examinations. A team approach (1 faculty member, 1 resident, 3-4 student clinicians) will be used, where one clinician may be doing the pre-testing; another the refraction up to drops; and another finishing off with the dilation. Estimate time for the pre-testing (VA, FDT) is 15 minutes maximum; dilation and consultation 15 minutes; history, refraction, SLE, drops 20 minutes. The schedule is set up in units of 15 minutes. Any follow up should be rescheduled according to # of units.

Equipment

• Three exam rooms are fully equipped, however students may want to bring their own diagnostic equipment. The center is not responsible for any student equipment left behind.

Educational Objectives

• Experience optometry care within a multi-disciplinary health care setting.
• Opportunity to interact with other health care professionals
• Inter and intra clinical referral procedures and protocols
• Opportunity to work with diverse group of ethnicities and primarily low-income
• Efficient assessment and evaluation of patient cases is expected
• Ability to manage, assess ocular manifestations of systemic diseases; treat ocular diseases within the scope of CA optometry guidelines
• Expect ability to perform examinations efficiently in a fast paced, team approach designed clinic

Resident/Student Responsibilities

• Provide care to a large volume of patients, approximately 32 patients per day seen by the clinicians.
• Seminar and case discussions
• Communicate with other health care providers
• Referrals to other health care providers
• Complete all referral/consultations request forms for each patient
• Complete all necessary examination services coding for billing
• Ability to work efficiently and cooperatively with attending OD, resident and students

Faculty Responsibilities

• Facilitates efficient patient flow among faculty, resident and student
• Provide direct patient care as necessary
• Facilitates appropriate inter or intra clinical referral/consultation
• Mentors resident and student in patient care
• Evaluates resident and student clinical performance
• Seminar, grand rounds and case discussions

Transportation:

• From University Eye Center, exit onto Piedmont Ave to Claremont. Take the 580 going East to the Park Avenue exit. Turn right on 13th Avenue, then turn left on E 31st St.

Parking options:

1. HGH has a paid parking garage. One day is $10.
2. Street parking. It is advised to park near Vallecito parking (on Vallecito Pl) so that everyone would stay together for safety.
3. Directions: Click for map

Miscellaneous

• Due to the heavy schedule, bringing your lunch is recommended, although lunch period is scheduled. There is a cafeteria inside the hospital.
• Please familiarize yourself with these exam forms that are used at ACMC: FORMS.