Tag archives: healthcare

Putting the Focus on Treating People
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 9, 2021

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics operates eight clinics in Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Isla Vista, largely located in neighborhoods where healthcare is most needed by an underserved population. The buildings themselves aren’t glamorous even though they’re located in a town with a gleaming new cancer center and a gorgeously re-designed front entrance to the main hospital. […]

Preparing for the Next 100 Years New Chair of Sansum Clinic Board Ready to Take on Competition
By Nick Masuda   |   November 23, 2021

Arnold Schaffer is aware of the obstacles that Sansum Clinic faces as the last remaining independent not-for-profit medical clinic in the state of California. The pandemic? It shut down or delayed outpatient surgeries and imaging centers — services that are needed not only for the community, but also to allow the clinic to operate. Competition? […]

Preparing for the Next 100 Years New Chair of Sansum Clinic Board Ready to Take on Competition
By Nick Masuda   |   November 22, 2021

Arnold Schaffer is aware of the obstacles that Sansum Clinic faces as the last remaining independent not-for-profit medical clinic in the state of California. The pandemic? It shut down or delayed outpatient surgeries and imaging centers — services that are needed not only for the community, but also to allow the clinic to operate. Competition? […]

To Stem Cell or Not to Stem Cell: A Q&A with an Orthobiologics Expert
By Nick Masuda   |   November 16, 2021

There is nothing shy about Richard Scheinberg — he believes orthobiologics is a cutting-edge solution to treat joint and musculoskeletal problems. The owner of Scheinberg Orthopedic Group at 401 North Chapala knows that anything associated with “stem cell” treatments comes with a stigma but is adamant that orthobiologics utilizes the body’s own stem cells to […]

‘Perfect Location’: Cottage Dishes on New Montecito Digs
By Nick Masuda   |   November 2, 2021

Taryn O’Connell couldn’t help but crack a smile, the relief of Cottage Urgent Care set to open in Montecito like a weight lifted off her shoulders. Finding real estate in town can be quite the task — a bit more so than its other urgent care centers in San Luis Obispo and Camarillo. “Finding the […]

The Doctor Will See You Now: Coast Village to Get Cottage Urgent Care
By Nick Masuda   |   October 26, 2021

For John Price, his property at the corner of Coast Village and Olive Mill roads has admittedly caused him headaches, with some 28 hearings between 2004 and 2017 looking to prevent him from developing his prime real estate spot into a mixed-use opportunity. He won, time and time again. And now he feels like he’s […]

Alum Returns as Doctor of Health Center
By Scott Craig   |   October 5, 2021

Dr. Rob Hughes ’04 has wanted to direct student health services at Westmont since he worked in the Health Center as a student. Now, more than two decades later, he accepted this position following Dr. David Hernandez’s retirement at the end of spring. “I appreciate the care that me and my student colleagues received there,” […]

Mad about Texas? Vote NO in the Recall
By Jenna Tosh   |   September 14, 2021

Elections matter. The Supreme Court matters. There is no more heartbreaking evidence of these truths than Texas, where, this week, abortion is effectively banned for the first time since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. The Texas legislature’s SB-8 went into effect in the state at midnight on September 1, after the Fifth Circuit […]

A Product of Their Environment . . .
By Nick Masuda   |   September 9, 2021

Both Giuseppina (Jo) D’Ambrosio and Flavid Montoya don’t need to drop their masks for one to see their smiling eyes. Amid an unprecedented 18 months for medical personnel across the globe, their Environmental Services team at Cottage Hospital might not be the team that is applauded on the nightly news. But internally, they are a […]

Hypocrisy … to Murder? Cold Politics Trumps Safety in Texas Yet Again
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   September 7, 2021

By now anyone who follows the news knows Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas contracted COVID-19 even though he has had both the regular two vaccine injections, and to almost everyone’s surprise, has already received a third booster shot. He received the extra shot despite possibly not being in a category authorized to receive it yet. […]

Velas to Direct New Nursing Program
By Scott Craig   |   September 7, 2021

Carol Velas, who has served as a registered nurse for 35 years, will direct Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program, which begins in January 2022 pending approval by the California Board of Registered Nursing. The former senior manager for state licensing and accreditation at Chamberlain University in Chicago, Velas helped design Westmont’s […]

What is Infrastructure?
By Robert Bernstein   |   August 24, 2021

When you hear the word “infrastructure” do your eyes glaze over? As I write this, Congress is debating an infrastructure bill that is on the order of a trillion dollars. Is that a lot or a little? Almost by definition, infrastructure is all the boring stuff that enables all the cool things in society to […]

Don’t Know if Your Doc is Vaccinated? Mandate Will Now Fix That — Mostly.
By Nick Masuda   |   August 24, 2021

For a local cancer patient, the alarm bells rang loudly — while recovering from an outpatient surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, she received a call. A member of the patient’s medical treatment team had tested positive for COVID-19. The patient has been unable to get vaccinated due to their ongoing treatment. Already dozens of […]

Montecito Concierge Medicine: ‘A Practice Within the Practice’
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 5, 2021

Back in April, we reported on the opening of Turner Medical Arts on Coast Village Road, located at 1250 Coast Village Road, upstairs from Village Properties, The Warner Group, and Synergy Lending. Now, Dr. Duncan Turner has brought on a new internal medical doctor, Dr. Alan Viglione, who launched his “practice within the practice,” Montecito […]

A Virtual Success: Cottage Hospital Foundation Surpasses Tiara Ball Goals
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 5, 2021

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Foundation’s 2020 Tiara Ball, one of the more popular annual black-tie galas in a town with no shortage of big bash benefits, was one of the last public events in the community before the COVID crisis closed everything down. The so-called “Party of the Year,” held on February 29, Leap Year […]

Summer of Stones: How Heat & Diet Impact Combating Kidney Stones
By Nick Masuda   |   August 5, 2021

Quickly look around your workplace — or your morning Zoom call — and there’s likely 10 people. One of those folks will get a kidney stone at some point in their lives, according to researchers. And that number is seemingly growing, with the rate in the United States shifting from 3.8% in the late 1970s […]

Cannabis Chaos Takes an Unexpected Turn
By Montecito Journal   |   June 24, 2021

I am troubled by the apparent conflicts-of-interest by attorney Marc Chytilo involving his lobbying for a major cannabis grower and Foothills Forever.  The latter is a large community philanthropic effort involving the pro bono efforts of many attorneys, but one that Mr. Chytilo seeks primary credit. Last Wednesday, many in the First District were left […]

Mayo of the West? Sansum President Explains Why Santa Barbara is on the Cutting Edge of Medicine
By Gwyn Lurie   |   May 27, 2021

When my husband and I moved our family from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara in search of a more congenial habitat, we were determined to hold on to one key big city perk — excellent medical care. So, we kept our L.A. doctors despite the time we knew it meant we’d spend in the car.  […]

A Really Big GoFundMe
By Robert Bernstein   |   March 18, 2021

Network news shows tend to end with a feel-good story about people helping people. This often involves someone who got cancer, or some other dreaded disease, and neighbors and friends who mount a fundraiser for them. Sometimes, it even involves children setting up a lemonade stand for the cause. GoFundMe has raised $9 billion since […]

Vaccine Appointments Open on Mondays
By Montecito Journal   |   March 10, 2021

–From County Public Health Office Appointments for first doses of COVID-19 vaccines are available to eligible Santa Barbara County residents every Monday at 9 am through the county’s public health vaccination sites. People who are eligible for these appointments are those who work in emergency services, agriculture, and food services, and any remaining Phase 1A […]