PHC reflects on over 60 years of service during December, the Big Month of Giving
December 3,
2024By Physicians for a Healthy California General
December is the Big Month of Giving and Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) has been honored to complete another year of service to California’s patients. For over 60 years, PHC has worked tirelessly to ensure patients have access to high quality, affordable health care. PHC also empowers medical students to develop educational, advocacy and service-related projects and inspire the next generation of California’s physician leaders.
PHC’s MedStudentsServe program does just that by empowering medical students like Gwendolyn Lee. Now a resident of internal medicine at UCSF, Ms. Lee co-founded an organization called “Students vs Pandemics,” a group of students overcoming traditional academic silos to address complex, real-world challenges that require intersectoral, interdisciplinary innovation.
While attending medical school at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Ms. Lee launched Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, a chapter of Students vs Pandemics. Through MedStudentsServe, PHC provided funds to develop packages for the local homeless population that included surgical masks, hand sanitizers, feminine products, sunscreen, oral hygiene kits and other products. With support from PHC, the collaborative was able to provide 100 packages for those most vulnerable during a global pandemic.
The collaborative also encouraged medical students to reflect on the importance of social determinants of health and exposed them to community partners by working with numerous nonprofits during Westwood Connect Day, a community event bringing together a broad range of service providers, community partners, governmental agencies and volunteers to serve individuals experiencing homelessness.
Lee is one of many young future physicians who PHC has supported over the last six decades. Our work at PHC is not possible without the continued investment of our supporters. This month, PHC asks that you consider investing in the health of California’s patients by donating to PHC so that we can continue to inspire students like Ms. Lee and help bridge the gap in health disparities with programs like MedStudentsServe.