In honor of International Wheelchair Day, UnitedHealthcare donated 10
wheelchairs to the Lestonnac Free Clinic.
In honor of International Wheelchair Day, UnitedHealthcare on Friday, Feb. 28, donated 10 wheelchairs to Lestonnac Free Clinic's patients at the Orange clinic. Sitting in wheelchairs left to right: Antonio Alcala, 53, of Anaheim, and Antonia Palacios, 68, of Santa Ana. Standing left to right: Belizario Garcia of Santa Ana, who received the wheelchair on behalf of his wife Elizabeth Penaloza; Keith Emmons, M.D., market medical director, UnitedHealthcare; Ed Gerber, executive director of Lestonnac; Maria Chamu, daughter of Palacios; Russ Bennett, vice president, Latino Health Solutions, UnitedHealthcare; and Andrea Avery, M.D., Lestonnac board member and volunteer physician (Photo: Jamie Rector).
Edward Gerber, executive director of Lestonnac Free Clinic, accepted the
wheelchairs at a special presentation today at Lestonnac’s main clinic
in Orange. On hand were clinic patients who received a wheelchair at a
reception in honor of International Wheelchair Day (www.internationalwheelchairday.com),
a day to recognize that for many people, a wheelchair provides greater
freedom and quality of life.
“We are grateful to receive support once again from our friends at
UnitedHealthcare,” Gerber said. “Through their gift, we were able to
send a few patients home today with a wheelchair, and the rest will be
dispersed to our other clinics that assist the underserved population.”
Lestonnac Free Clinic is primarily a volunteer organization working with
local physicians and hospitals to meet the health care needs of low- and
no-income families in the community, providing critical health care
services to underserved residents of Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside
counties. Established in 1979, the nonprofit’s clinics in Orange, Yorba
Linda, Los Alamitos, Artesia, Compton and Riverside have treated nearly
20,000 patients. Lestonnac also operates five mobile clinics in
Riverside County.
Last year, UnitedHealthcare, with support from H.O.P.E. Artesia and Joy
of Sharing Foundation, helped Lestonnac Free Clinic open a new
750-square-foot clinic in Artesia. Also in 2013, UnitedHealthcare
donated $710,252 to St. Joseph Hospital to help implement the hospital’s
electronic health record system to connect 27 community clinics
throughout Orange County, including Lestonnac Free Clinic, to improve
care delivery to local patients.
“Lestonnac Free Clinic is an important health care resource, and
together we hope to continue making a difference in the lives of the
underserved people in our communities,” said Keith Emmons, M.D., market
medical director, UnitedHealthcare of California.
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, serves more
than 2.4 million Californians with a care provider network of 315
hospitals and more than 59,000 physicians statewide.
About Lestonnac Free Clinic
Lestonnac
Free Clinic, founded by Sister Marie Therese in 1979, is devoted
to providing free, comprehensive medical care to the poorest of the poor
in Orange County, California, as well as dental care to our currently
established patients. We are a nonprofit, primarily volunteer
organization working with local physicians and local hospitals to meet
the health care needs of low and no-income families in our community.
For more information, go online at www.lestonnacfreeclinic.org.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 800,000 physicians
and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care
facilities nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves more than 45 million
people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth
Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being
company.
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