Facility Sacramento Medical Center Department of Medicine - Point West Facility Address Point West Medical Offices Building 1650 Response Road Sacramento CA 95815 Telephone 916-944-4521 E-mail your doctor

Department Hours

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
8:30 am 12:30 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 5:00 pm	8:30 am 12:30 pm
Closed during lunch, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

My Profession and Why I Chose It

After 20 years as a primary care physician, I joined the Hospital Based Services (HBS) about 2 years ago. I still miss my old patients, many of whom had become good friends over the years. However, because I began to oversee the HBS division, I felt I needed to experience this work myself in order to be an effective leader. Now I have found that I really enjoy the time I am able to spend with these patients as well. I like to sit on the edge of the bed and take as much time as is necessary to help patients and their families understand what is happening to them. I freely give out my beeper number so that any of them can call me if they need more information or want to know more about what’s going on or what the plans are. I especially enjoy the geriatric patients, maybe because I’m getting closer to that age myself! As a physician, I feel incredibly honored and privileged to have people let me into their lives. I have a strong personal commitment to do everything I possibly can in their benefit. I love humor and find that it often helps me become closer to my patients - maybe because they can see me as more than just someone in a white coat who orders tests with needles and medicines with side effects!

My Credentials

Medical school	Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Internship	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Residency	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Board certification	Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine

My Tenure with Kaiser Permanente

I have served as Chief of Outpatient Quality Assurance, President of the Professional Staff, Chief of the Department of Medicine, and I am currently Assistant-Physician-in-Chief for Sacramento/Roseville.

My Professional Interests and Affiliations

• Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of California Davis

Receiving Your Care From Kaiser Permanente

Probably the least understood advantage of health care at Kaiser Permanente is that we physicians feel we are completely free to do whatever we think is best for our patients. Unlike a number of my acquaintances in other types of practice, at Kaiser I don’t get paid any more or less based on what tests I order. I do get measured on the quality of what I do, but not at all on how much money I spend in the care of my patients. This gives me such a unique ethical foundation, that essentially every day I thank my lucky stars I signed up with Kaiser Permanente.

About Me

Prior to becoming a physician, I was a graduate student. I received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford University in 1974

I love to white water kayak (the older I get, the more I wonder how smart this is). I also like to mountain bike, build computers (and tear them apart when they don’t work!). I am married with 4 grown children. We get together very often, constantly laughing, enjoying each other’s company and simply getting the most out of every day we have.

I am actively involved with Christmas Promise, a completely volunteer local organization here in Sacramento. I’ve been Santa Claus on Christmas Eve almost every year for over 20 years.

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