Specialty Internal Medicine Facility Elk Grove Medical Offices Medicine 2 Address 9201 Big Horn Dr Elk Grove CA 95758 Map & Directions Telephone Advice (24 hours)/Appts: 916-478-5100 E-mail your doctor View your preventive services

My Office Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		8:30 am 12:30 pm	8:30 am 7:30 pm	8:30 am 5:30 pm	8:30 am 5:30 pm
Closed during lunch, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

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Hi there! Welcome to my home page. I have been working at Kaiser Permanente since 2000. I also work part time. Note that my office hours have changed as of October 2008!!! In support of our Medicine 2 station staffing needs, I have been asked to switch my day off and my evening clinic. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

An important name to know: My medical assistant’s name is Griselda. She takes your vital signs, checks your medications, and prepares you for your office visit. She answers phone messages. You can make an appointment with her to check your blood pressure and your home blood pressure machine. She is there to help both you and me.

Now about me… I am a 4th generation Japanese-American; and, unfortunately, that means that I don’t speak any Japanese. I was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in Sacramento (Carmichael) and attended Rio Americano High School. I graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Biology. I was then lured to Nashville, Tennessee, to Vanderbilt University Medical School with a full tuition scholarship (I mention this because everyone always wants to know how I ended up in Tennessee). I returned to California and completed my residency in Internal Medicine at UCLA Medical Center. I then returned home to Carmichael, and accepted a job at Kaiser Permanente in South Sacramento. When the Elk Grove facility opened in 2003, I moved with my station, the former South Sac Med G, to start the new Elk Grove medicine department. And I have been there ever since. What is my specialty and why did I choose it? My specialty is internal medicine. This is adult healthcare that focuses on health promotion, disease prevention, and comprehensive health care management. I chose this specialty because I enjoy seeing a variety of health problems, having to know a little bit about everything, and being an educator to my patients.

Why did I choose to work for Kaiser Permanente? South Sacramento Kaiser Permanente was recommended to me by some friends who did some of their training at Kaiser during their Internal Medicine Residency at UC Davis Medical Center. In fact, one of them was instrumental in getting me this job. Mainly, I chose Kaiser Permanente for 2 reasons: One, so that I could practice good medicine without having to worry about the business aspects of medicine. (Not that I don’t worry about it these days given the current state of our national health care…but I am buffered.) Two, I wanted to work part time, which in medicine is still a 50+ hour work week.

Why do I stay? Well, obviously my friends made a good recommendation. There are good people here with whom I enjoy working. And I enjoy seeing those of you who comprise my panel of patients. Many of you have been with me for quite a while and so it’s not like just seeing another patient, but reuniting with an old friend.

My practice philosophy? I’ve thought and thought about this one. I haven’t figured out how to put it into words. For now, I’ll just say that I am here to help you. I am likely to be more successful if you are also trying to help yourself and if you communicate well with me. Talk to me. Ask me questions. Figure out what your goals are and what you would like from me to help you achieve those goals. Honesty is important.

My personal interests? I spend most of my time with my family (especially the ones with 4 legs and fur, and my noisy little feathered friend). They are so sweet and such a joy! Life’s been busy and relaxation is usually reading a few chapters of a good book. When it’s cold, I enjoy making and eating chocolate soufflés. I also like planting spring flowers and enjoying the fruits of my labor come spring when I have colorful blossoms all over the place. I take my parents out to dinner once a week. My mother and I have season tickets to the Music Circus each summer. My father and I meticulously plan a fun-filled family vacation every year. Then I spend the rest of the year constructing a photo album. We try to visit Yosemite every 1-2 years because we love it there. We also usually make at least a couple trips to Los Angeles each year to visit the Ishihara relatives (almost all the Ishihara’s are in Los Angeles) who tend to be a pretty close-knit bunch. I am very lucky to be part of a family where everyone is supportive and cares about each other’s welfare.

To those of you who I have harassed about not getting enough exercise, I want to point out that I exercise regularly with my dogs. I used to jog to the park regularly with my border collie or take a brisk walk to the river, but he’s 15 years old now (that’s like 105 in human years) and he hasn’t wanted to make the trip to the river in several months now. Last year (2008) I got toy poodle puppy and ended up with my sister’s sheltie puppy and I’ve got them doing a brisk walk/jog to the river now (3 miles round trip). They’re great because, unlike my border collie, they don’t stop and sniff and mark their territory!

My Credentials

Medical school	Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
Residency	UC Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Board certification	Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine

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