Advocacy

AAP California hosts an annual Advocacy in Action conference in Sacramento, where residents and faculty receive education about legislative advocacy and have the opportunity to meet with legislators to speak about issues related to child health. Residents will join our Director of Advocacy, Lydia Villa, MD, in preparing for and participating in this conference.

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Our primary care faculty volunteers their time as board members, including Clarisse Casilang, MD, as vice president, Casey Schreiber, MD, as secretary and Brianna Leyden, MD, as young physician representative.

Founded in 1976 in Santa Ana, Casa Teresa was envisioned as a home for pregnant women, over the age of 18, who were alone and had no support. At the time, there were very few resources or shelters specifically for single, pregnant women, and founders Neill and Sally Sullivan launched Casa Teresa as a four-unit building and cottage to meet the need. After nearly a decade in Santa Ana, Casa Teresa moved to its current site in Orange in 1985. In 2013, we launched the Emergency Maternity Shelter (EMS), catering specifically to women struggling with chronic homelessness, substance abuse and other intensive issues. Also located on our main campus is our Alumni Resource Center, which provides educational classes, case management and other supportive services for graduates from our programs. Elsie Hidalgo, MD, one of our attending general pediatricians at the FQHC Santa Ana clinic, is a contact for this organization.

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We are a volunteer student-run team that provides free medical and dental services to the community of Èl Niño, Mexico. One Saturday every month, we drive from UC Irvine to Mexico. Our team is comprised of undergraduates, medical students, physicians, dentists and dental hygienists.

Illumination Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides targeted, interdisciplinary services for the most vulnerable adults and children experiencing homelessness. Geeta Grover, MD, one of our attending physicians in the UC Irvine Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, serves as a board member. Residents participate in the Mini Medical School program within the Illumination Foundation, created in 2019 by CHOC providers to teach homeless youth about various STEM topics.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ILLUMINATION FOUNDATION

Created in 2019 by CHOC providers to teach homeless youth about various STEM topics. Sessions are usually held at the Illumination Foundation shelter. Greg Kennedy (a former resident and chief!) leads this event. 

Shared Harvest Foundation is a non-profit social enterprise advancing compassion through wellness, service and relief. We mobilize and train a culturally responsive, community-based workforce to provide disaster relief, care coordination and frontline support for organizations serving vulnerable populations. We offer fiscal sponsorship to organizations doing impact work who need a supportive partner. Candice Taylor, MD, one of our attending physicians at the FQHC Santa Ana Clinic and associate program directors, serves as a board member.

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SuperKids Health Expo is a UC Irvine pediatric resident-led initiative that started in 2011. This outreach event aims to engage and support our local community and raise awareness on childhood obesity. It began as a 5K race and fun run for children, along with a health fair. After the COVID pandemic, the event, in partnership with CHOC Wellness on Wheels, evolved into a comprehensive health fair dedicated to promoting different pillars of wellness for children and their families by connecting them with wonderful community partners who offer valuable education and resources to address their social needs. It is a day filled with an obstacle course, magic show, dancing and music, workshops and so much more.

Team KiPOW (Kid Power!) is an academic-community partnership that first started in Washington, D.C., to help implement national health policy at impoverished schools. A task force of trained, energetic medical and undergraduate students models healthy behaviors at school sites with a high proportion of students on the National School Lunch Program during federally funded school lunch and recess. This time with mentors is intended to promote positive health behavior and demonstrate improved physiologic markers. Residents participate with this group during their ACT rotation. Hillary Zieve, MD, is a co-founder of OC KiPOW, and Candice Taylor Lucas, MD, MPH, serves as a faculty advisor.

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Organization leaders introduce regional resources addressing health disparities in Orange County during the ACT rotation, including:

• Women, Infants & Children (WIC)
• CalFresh Program
• Orange County Health Care Agency
• Annual Conditions of Children in Orange County Report
• Orange County Behavioral Health Services (OCHCA)
• CHOC Health Alliance
• CalOptima
• Public Law Center
• Rady Children's Health Advocacy and Public Policy, Marketing, Media Communications and Social Work departments