Specialty Internal Medicine Facility Sacramento Medical Center Department of Chemical Dependency Services Address 2829 Watt Avenue Suite 150 Sacramento CA 95825 Map & Directions Telephone Office: (916) 979-3523 E-mail your doctor

My Office Hours

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

My Philosophy As A Physician

I am proud to say I have been a physician with Kaiser Permanente since 1990. I specialize in Internal Medicine and I began my career as a primary care physician. Since 1999, I have worked at the Sacramento Chemical Dependency Recovery Program (CDRP). At CDRP, I work with patients with addictive disorders, mental health disorders, and chronic pain. The real focus of my work is helping my patients live in Recovery. What is Recovery? The U.S. Surgeon described it this way:

"Recovery is a process, an outlook, a vision, a guiding principle. The overarching message is that hope and restoration of a meaningful life are possible, despite serious illness. Instead of focusing primarily on symptom relief, as the medical model dictates, recovery casts a much wider spotlight on restoration of self-esteem and identity and on attaining meaningful roles in society."

As a physician, I try to remember what Dr. Albert Schweitzer said: "Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. They come to us not knowing that truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work."

So let's get down to work, together.

About My Practice

Half of my clinical practice involves treating people with addictions in the early stages of their recovery. This typically involves detoxification and stabilzing people medically. I also assist patients in the Chemical Dependency Program with medical conditions that directly relate to their substance abuse problem. The other half of my practice involves treating patients with challenging chronic pain conditions. Sometimes this involves prescribing pain medications. However, I get the greatest satisfaction from working with patients on mind/body aspects of care that don't involve medications.

In addition to my clinical work, I am proud to support my physician colleagues in several ways. I serve on our local Physician Health and Wellness Committee. I am also heavily involved in teaching many of the excellent educational programs for our physicians that deal with doctor-patient communication.

My Credentials

Medical school	UC San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Internship	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Residency	UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA
Board certification	Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine

About My Web Page

I invite you to use the links at the left to learn more about our clinic, and to learn more about addiction, chronic pain, and mental health. In addition to using my Web Page for information, I hope that it can be a source of inspiration. Please check out the link on, "Improving Your Health." This is where you will find Kaiser resources to assist you in changing your health-related behaviors. Our behaviors are critically important in determining how healthy we are. And while we may not be able to change our genetics or the illnesses we have, we can always choose and practice healthier behaviors. So start exercising, take control of your stress and your mood, quit smoking, and eat right. It's never too late! Kaiser and I have some great tools to help you on your journey.

Personal Notes

I grew up in suburban Los Angeles, where I learned to love the outdoors. I graduated from UCLA with a BA in History, and started graduate school in American Studies on the East Coast with the goal of becoming a journalist or teacher. About 2 years into grad school, however, I felt a longing for something different from my career, so I entered medical school in 1983. My wife and I moved to Sacramento in 1987 so I could complete my training, and we have been happy here ever since. I have two children, and in my free time I am involved in many of my children's activities. I get great enjoyment from outdoor activities that give me the illusion of speed, including cycling, skiing, and in-line skating. I also occasionally pretend to be a golfer.

Joining Kaiser Permanente was the best professional decision I have ever made. Kaiser supports me to be the best physician I can be. I believe that Kaiser is leading the way towards building a new and better kind of healthcare for the future.

Disclaimer
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.

This site may contain links to other web sites outside of www.permanente.net. Kaiser Permanente has no control over the content or the availability of these sites, and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Web links are provided as an educational tool, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. A link or reference to a web site should not be construed as an endorsement of the site or its contents. Any medical content that you feel may be important to your health should always be discussed with your Kaiser Permanente physician.