Central California Faculty Medical Group (CCFMG), in affiliation with UCSF Fresno, is proud to partner with Abbott and United Health Centers in hosting the Comprehensive Heart And Multidisciplinary Limb Preservation Outreach Networks (CHAMPIONS) screening events.
At these events, CCFMG’s UCSF faculty physicians and their support staff will provide the community with screenings and assessments about overall vascular health and conduct basic cardiovascular screenings to evaluate for at-risk patients. The effort is intended to improve cardiovascular care in the disadvantaged and underserved patient population of the San Joaquin Valley by making critically important screenings more readily available to the communities that need them most.
Dr. Leigh Ann O’Banion, Valley Vascular Surgery Associates surgeon and UCSF Fresno Assistant Clinical Professor, saw early in her career that many vascular patients in the Central Valley had few options for necessary health screenings. Teaming up with cardiologist and colleague Dr. Teresa Daniele, University Cardiovascular Center Medical Director and UCSF Fresno Chief of Cardiology, they’ve found the means to bring specialized cardiovascular care to areas with limited access to it.
While Fresno is considered the fifth largest city in California by population, it is surrounded by many economically disadvantaged, rural communities that find it difficult to attract medical specialists, despite the ever-growing need. Unfortunately, the Central Valley is only one such “care desert” in a nation filled with far-too-many pockets of patients with limited access to a full array of medical services. Whether those care gaps result from geographic or socio-economic conditions, the results are often the same: underserved communities receiving sub-optimal attention. That is what makes this event pertinent and critical to the well-being of our community.
