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Operation Access

Operation Access (OA), a non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, is committed to improving the health of the community by increasing access to surgical and specialty care for low-income, uninsured people. OA mobilizes a network of medical volunteers, medical centers, and referring community clinics to provide the uninsured with donated outpatient surgeries and procedures that significantly improve their health, ability to work, and quality of life. OA was founded in 1993 and serves patients in six Bay Area Counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma). Over 4,600 surgeries and specialty procedures have been donated through Operation Access. For more information, please visit our website www.operationaccess.org.

Description:
Operation Access addresses three critical community health issues:

1. Improving access to care. For the nearly 20% of uninsured Bay Area residents, there are overwhelming obstacles to getting needed surgical care. For example, the average cost an uninsured patient would be charged by a private hospital to repair a hernia is approximately $15,000. This is far out of reach for the population OA serves, for whom the average yearly income is $8,900 for individuals, and $20,800 per year for a family of four.
   
   
2. Promoting local volunteerism. While medical professionals are aware of the problems with healthcare access in their community, it is difficult to provide charity care in their own practices. According to Dr. Schecter, one of OA’s founders, prior to the establishment of OA, “it was easier for doctors to go to Guatemala or Southeast Asia to provide free surgical services to the needy than in their own communities.” OA provides a meaningful and effective way for medical professionals to volunteer locally and give back to their communities – by donating their most valuable asset, their professional skills.
   
   
3. Reducing health disparities. Cultural and linguistic differences often result in an inability to obtain quality care or any care at all, especially when trying to navigate the complexities of health care in the United States. OA reduces health disparities by providing culturally competent case management and medical interpretation for our non-English speaking patients, as well as translated materials.
   
   

Typical procedures provided through Operation Access are hernia repair, removal of cysts and lipoma, ano-rectal, gastroenterological, gynecological, orthopedic, and urological. All services provided through OA are free to the patients.

Most OA patients are working, non-English speaking, and have family dependents. Patients qualify for Operation Access if they are uninsured and do not qualify for public or job-based coverage, earn less than 250% of the federal poverty level and have less than $3,000 in savings, and were diagnosed at a clinic as needing outpatient surgery.

History:
Operation Access was founded in 1993 by Dr. Douglas Grey, Chief of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at San Francisco's Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Dr. William Schecter, Chief of Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital, and Dr. Paul Hofmann. These prominent Bay Area doctors started the organization in response to the inability of the uninsured to gain access to necessary surgical care.

The initial partnership consisted of 15 medical volunteers, one hospital, and seven clinics in San Francisco County. Today, the OA network has grown to include over 600 medical volunteers, 24 participating medical facilities, and 60 referring community clinics in six Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma.

Procedures are provided through the unique network of community clinics, hospitals and volunteer medical staff established by Operation Access. Community clinics provide initial screenings and refer uninsured patients unable to access care through the public safety net to OA. Surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other hospital staff volunteer with OA to provide pre- and post-op screenings and perform the surgeries at no cost to patients. OA establishes detailed quality control agreements with participating hospitals, which ‘host’ donated surgery sessions and contribute the use of their operating rooms, supplies, laboratory, and pharmacy services. OA provides culturally competent case management throughout the process, and coordinates the considerable administrative work to schedule appointments and surgeries.

This straightforward, highly-effective model benefits both patients, who get the surgical care they need but cannot afford, as well as medical providers, who are afforded a hassle-free opportunity to make a difference by providing charity care in their communities. The OA program helps meet a genuine need in the community to bridge the healthcare gap, while occupying a unique niche as the only Bay Area organization to coordinate a broad range of donated surgical procedures for uninsured, low-income individuals. The program is now being replicated in Orange County, CA – Access OC held their first surgery session in May, 2007. Other communities are also exploring consultancies with OA to implement the model.

Contact people:

Daniel Rabkin, Program Manager, (phone), (email) Meilyn Silveira, (phone), (email) Jessica Galeria, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (415) 733-0052
Office fax number: (415) 733-0019

Address:

115 Sansome St., Suite 1205 San Francisco, CA 94104 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.operationaccess.org

Directions:

Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Montogmery BART

Last updated on May 19, 2010