Specialty Emergency Medicine Facility Sacramento Medical Center Department of Emergency Medicine Address 2025 Morse Avenue Sacramento CA 95825 Map & Directions Telephone (916) 973-6600 E-mail your doctor

My Profession

I’m an Emergency Physician. This is a relatively young specialty in the field of medicine, with a birthday back in the early 1970s. I chose this specialty for a number of reasons. Firstly, a practice in Emergency Medicine is extremely diverse. In the same afternoon or evening, I could fix a dislocated shoulder and treat a heart attack. I can treat an ear infection and then repair a large laceration. I can stop a nosebleed and then diagnose a patient with appendicitis. Secondly, a practice in Emergency Medicine is very tangible, hands-on. Our patients present to us with acute problems that we attempt to fix. Hence, Emergency Medicine is both challenging and rewarding.

My Practice Philosophy

Even utilizing the best that preventive medicine has to offer, trauma and disease are a fact of life. Simply put, vaccinations and bicycle helmets are only so effective. Furthermore, accidents happen on weekends and holidays. As an Emergency Physician, my role is to be there when my patient’s personal physician can not be.

An important part of my practice is communication. For every patient with a heart attack that I treat in the ER, I see another 10 patients who are worried that they are having a heart attack. Communication and reassurance are crucial for these patients. Patient education is an all too often neglected component of disease prevention and treatment. This is especially true for patients who suffer from conditions that are poorly responsive to medications or surgery.

Why I Like Working at Kaiser Permanente

I have the freedom to focus on the care that I provide my patients. Working for Kaiser Permanente has enabled me to utilize my medical degree rather than my business degree. (Just kidding, I don’t really have a business degree.) I like practicing medicine, not running a business.

At Kaiser Permanente, I have the privilege of working with a collection of physicians that I both like and respect. It’s always easier to come to work when you enjoy the company of the people you work with.

My Personal History:

I was born in Mountain View, California. I went to high school at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. After college, medical school, and residency, I spent 3 years in Germany serving with the US Army. After leaving the Army in 1999, I joined Kaiser Permanente. Following the tragic events of 9/11, I joined the Army Reserves.

During my free time from Kaiser Permanente and the Army, I enjoy training for various endurance events like marathons and triathlons (trying to live by my own advice.) During the winter, I try to get up to Tahoe as much as possible. There, I enjoy both snowboarding and snowshoeing, the latter of which I can enjoy with my two dogs, Cody and Dave.

My current aspirations are to finish a half-ironman triathlon by the age of 40 and to relearn the guitar (a childhood talent I’ve long since neglected.)

Professional Interests and Affiliations:

• American College of Emergency Medicine

My Credentials

Medical school	Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL
Residency	Darnall Army Community Hospital, Fort Hood, TX
Board certification	Emergency Medicine, American Board of Emergency Medicine

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If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

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