Carl Dameron, creative director of Dameron Communications. “Sharing your stories is fun. Let me share the secrets behind successful public relations and advertising.
To the people who know and work with him, Carl M. Dameron is a dynamic, hard-driving, award-winning advertising and public relations expert with more than 30 years of success helping organizations and people throughout California meet their goals.
He is also a cancer survivor. In this edition of SoCal Voices, Carl shares the story of starting and growing his company, how he dealt with his cancer diagnosis and offers sage advice for anyone facing a challenge.
Dameron Communications services include: advertising for television, social media, radio, newspaper, magazine, and billboards, web sites, direct mail, mobile web applications, and email. They also deliver award winning public relations press releases, press conferences, media relations, television programs, web sites, opinion editorials, promotions, event creation and management, government relations and community relations.
For more information on Dameron Communications call Carl M. Dameron @ (909) 534-9500.
Jay Diallo, CEO and Founder of First Community Capital, Inc. welcomes certification as the first and only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) located in Southwest Riverside County. First Community Capital serves Southern California and Arizona.
(Inland Empire, Calif.) The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has certified First Community Capital, Inc. as the first and only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) located in Southwest Riverside County. First Community Capital serves Southern California and Arizona.
Community Development Financial Institutions play an important role in generating economic growth and opportunity in some of our nation’s most distressed communities. By offering tailored resources and innovative programs that invest federal dollars alongside private sector capital, the CDFI’s take a market-based approach to supporting economically disadvantaged communities.
CDFI’s can loan money at very attractive rates to help people buy homes, and small businesses.
First Community Capital helps low – and moderate-income entrepreneurs who lack sufficient training and education to gain access to capital, thereby delivering long-term economic strength to communities while helping small businesses become more resilient.
“We often lend to borrowers that may not meet mainstream institutions’ underwriting criteria, helping to bridge the gap between conventional lending standards and the needs of hard-to-reach borrowers,” said Diallo.
Before starting First Community Capital in 2019, Diallo was Vice President – Community Development Lending Officer at Pacific Premier Bank in Irvine, CA. He also served as Executive Director – PPEP Microbusiness & Housing Developing Corporation (PMHDC), in Tucson, AZ.
Diallo earned undergraduate at bachelor’s degree in political science with a Minor in Economics, from Westmont College in Santa Barbara. He also earned a graduate degree in Banking from Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle, WA. His fields of emphasis included: Credit and Enterprise Risk Management, Bank Financial Statements, Bank Financial Tools, Dynamic Leadership, Analysis of Business Conditions, Sales and Marketing.
First Community Capital is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and a certified CDFI governed by an independent board of directors. The board provides fiduciary and organizational oversight, ensuring it achieves its mission of growing businesses and strengthening underserved communities in California and Arizona. The directors are responsible for approving all lending policies and procedures as well as reviewing the financial and programmatic performance of the agency.
For more information on First Community Capital, Inc. go to https://www.fccbi.org or call (951) 249-5767
Board of Directors
Jay Diallo, Chairman, President & CEO
First Community Capital, Inc.
Mark Davis, Vice President-BDO-PM Canyon Community Bank
Vincent McCoy, Vice President Riverside County Black Chamber of Commerce
Fatimoh Muhammed
President & CEO – Wamufat International
First Community Capital Locations
California Locations
Southwest Riverside County
26111 Ynez Rd. Suite B30
Temecula, CA 92591
Inland Empire
2060 Chicago Ave. Suite A13
Riverside, CA 92507
Los Angeles County
879 W 190th St. Suite 400
Gardena, CA 90248
Southern Arizona Market
Pima County
8321 E Broadway Blvd #103
Tucson, AZ 85710
Maricopa County
1510 W McDowell RD #4
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Yuma County
8321 E Broadway Blvd #103
Tucson, AZ 85710
About First Community Capital Inc.
Established in 2019 as an economic development nonprofit agency, First Community Capital has already made significant contributions in helping entrepreneurs to start and grow their small businesses. In leveraging our network of bankers, community development organizations and leaders, we have provided training, seminars, and workshops to about 200 small business entrepreneurs. We strongly believe that with each business financed and each job created and or retained, it represents a critical step in the transformation of a life, a family, and a community.
Carl Dameron, creative director of Dameron Communications. “Sharing your stories is fun. Let me share the secrets of successful public relations and advertising.
(San Bernardino, Calif.) Businesses, government and civic groups that want to liven up their meetings with an interesting and informative advertising and public relations speaker should choose Carl Dameron, creative director of Dameron Communications.
Dameron has run his own public relations firm for more than 30 years, and during that time he has shared his expertise on what makes a good story with everyone from local political candidates to national logistics firms.
“The same elements that make interesting news releases also make good speeches, Dameron said. “In my presentations, I mix humor with a clear, direct message while delivering information you can put to work right away!”
Dameron will explain how important it is to get in front of a story to drive national and regional advertising, public relations and news coverage.
“People who hear me speak should leave with a better understanding of how to improve their own advertising and public relations efforts,” Dameron said. “Sharing your stories should be fun. Let me share the secrets behind successful public relations and advertising.
Getting the attention of the news media is not easy.
Editors, reporters and media managers are constantly bombarded with e-mails from PR people. Most are spiked right away, but releases from Dameron Communications always get a second look.
How? Carl Dameron understands news and knows how to work with busy news professionals.
Dameron Communications has served Southern California clients since 1989
Dameron is available to speak on several advertising and public relations topics including:
Advertising – How to create advertising that works — from flyers to TV commercials and everything in between
Public Relations – How to get media coverage and increase the positive perception of your organization
Government Relations – How to get elected officials to listen and how to leverage their influence
Community Relations – How get the community to understand and support your goals and objectives
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc Celebrates 30 years of medical service. Left to right: Anna Canton, Human Resource Manager, Kristina Hlebo, Finance Assistant, Carl Meier, executive vice president, Dr. Albert Arteaga CEO, Alexandra Acosta, Director of Finance and Lizette Noriega, Human Resource Assistant, Kristina Hlebo, Finance Assistant, Alexandra Acosta, Director of Finance and Lizette Noriega, Human Resource Assistant.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) In June of 1984, a young doctor and his wife, a nurse, opened a family medical practice called LaSalle Medical Associates in Fontana. Their goal: provide affordable health care, with dignity and respect, to all in the Inland Empire at http://knockyourhealth.com/wbv/.
Three decades later, Dr. Albert and Maria Arteaga have gone far beyond making their goal a reality. They are now recognized as one of the leading health care providers in the Inland Empire, if not all of California.
“We have had some markers of success,” Dr. Arteaga says. “We went from two employees – my wife and I – to a fully staffed clinic. We opened more clinics. Then we started our own IPA (independent practice association) to keep up with new demands to make health care more and more efficient. We are making people healthier.”
“It has always been our goal to treat as many patients as we could while giving them the best health care possible,” he said.
Some, who have recognized LaSalle Medical Associates as a leader in health care along with www.motorcyclepundit.com , by giving them awards for their endeavors, include:
The federal Center for Disease Control, which recognized Dr. Arteaga as California’s first Childhood Immunization Champion. This award recognized his efforts in educating the parents of LaSalle’s pediatric patients, and the greater Inland Empire community, of the importance of childhood immunizations
The California Medical Association, which recognized Dr. Arteaga with its Ethnic Physician’s Leadership Award, recognizing his contributions to improving health care in the Latino community
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Resolution Award for outstanding community efforts
The San Bernardino County Medical Society’s Merlin Hendrickson, M.D. Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community. Dr. Arteaga was recognized for his efforts to provide health services to Inland Empire children.
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), as Riverside and San Bernardino counties’ best health care provider, and for being one of the top enrollers in all of California in the state’s former Healthy Families program
The African American Health Initiative as a model provider in a two-year study of Black health care in San Bernardino County.
Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine, which recognized LaSalle Medical Associates as one of the top 15 Latino-owned businesses in the Inland Empire
“As pediatricians, we strive for 100 percent immunizations of pediatric patients and, while that’s probably a utopian objective, our goal is to get as close as to that 100 percent as we can,’’ says Dr. Albert Arteaga, president and founder of LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. . “This CDC recognition is the fruit of two to three years of intense labor on part of me and staff.”
Despite all this success, it hasn’t always been an easy path for the Arteagas.
“Life doesn’t always play out as you expect,” Dr. Arteaga said. “That is certainly true in my life as a health care provider. Good intentions require good management. Providing good management has been every bit as challenging as my years in medical school were more than three decades ago!”
One of the biggest changes in health care took place just this year. In 2014, Covered California part of the federal Affordable Health Care Act – which Dr. Arteaga has long been a champion of – came into being.
“Although Covered California does not yet mean everyone has insurance, it does mean that many patients who couldn’t afford health care before now can do so,” Dr. Arteaga said. “Health care is no longer an out-of-reach luxury for those who couldn’t afford insurance, but is a basic right for everyone
Dr. Arteaga has always thought that health care is a basic right, and has operated LaSalle Medical Associates as if that were the case.
Dr. Arteaga targeted his marketing to Latinos and low-income people who were underserved. Providing high quality medical services to underserved populations were crucial to the success of LaSalle Medical Associates. LaSalle Medical Associates later expanded from Fontana to San Bernardino and Hesperia. These communities have many low-income people in need of quality affordable medical services.
He also is Latino, so he easily related to his Latino patients in ways they appreciated. They told friends and family about La Salle Medical Associates, which caused his popularity in the Inland Empire’s Latino culture to swell.
Dr. Arteaga has always believed that his key to business success was finding a way to get paid for their services, instead of telling patients they had to figure that out on their own before seeing him. For most of LaSalle’s history, that business model meant LaSalle employees educated patients about their health care insurance options.
Most patients LaSalle saw over the years qualified for either Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. The latter, which like Medi-Cal was run by the state of California, offered low to moderate-income parents who didn’t qualify for Medi-Cal a subsidy for the health care of their children from birth to age 19.
Things have changed in the last two years. In 2013, California got a head start on the Affordable Care Act; they created Covered California and merged Healthy Families and Medi-Cal together.
In 2014, one of the key Covered California’s requirements is everyone must have health insurance or pay a penalty. This means, many patients applied and signed up for Covered California, Medi-Cal or other insurance first, and then choose or are assigned to LaSalle Medical Associates.
Consequently, rather than informing new patients of their insurance options, LaSalle Medical Associates employees now more likely are helping the patients understand how their health insurance system works.
Dr. Arteaga acknowledges the Covered California has brought changes some people will take a while to get accustomed to. One of these is a concept called managed care.
“The structure of the Covered California means many people, both those who had some other type of insurance and those who were uninsured, are now in managed care for the first time,” he said.
Managed care is called this because it requires a doctor, such as one of the physicians in LaSalle Medical Associates, to coordinate patients’ health care services. These primary care doctors have a general, family or pediatric practice, and will treat patients for many of their symptoms, but will refer the patients to specialists when more expertise is needed.
Managed care has been around since the 1990s, Dr. Arteaga said, but it has become more popular. It’s usually more cost-efficient to have managed care, he explained, people choose to buy managed care for its lower premiums.
Medi-Cal has used managed care for nearly two decades. Meanwhile, LaSalle Medical Associates, since the beginning, has accepted Medi-Cal when many doctors would not, and now has a reputation among those familiar with Medi-Cal for providing quality services, no matter how payment is provided.
Even though there wasn’t “managed care,” as it now known when Dr. Arteaga started his practice, even back then he was in favor of patients developing close relationships with one family doctor.
“Thirty years ago I wanted to see all the patients, and manage their health care. That has not changed, but I have learned that in order to do so, a physician must take a leadership role. Otherwise, many patients will seek or demand services that are redundant or not needed. Our goal is to make people healthier.”
Maria and Dr. Albert Arteaga. The California Medical Association awarded Abert Arteaga the “Ethnic Physician’s Leadership Award,” recognizing his contributions to medical care in the Latino community.
Dr. Arteaga sees the physician as an advocate for the patient, one who will make sure patients get the services they truly need. Sometimes, just as some patients will push for more health care than is necessary, some insurance companies will resist paying for what a doctor recommends, but that is not the intent of managed care.
“I want the patient, the doctor and the insurance company to develop a positive team, Dr. Arteaga said. “There may be opposition, but that should not stop any of us in trying to make quality health care succeed.”
Besides managed care and its great expansion through the Affordable Care Act, another large change in the health care industry over the last three decades has been more careful monitoring of expenses by insurance companies.
Now, it is better for a medical group like LaSalle Medical Associates to band with even more doctors, so they can take advantage of economies of scale, and provide health care more cost-efficiently.
This is why LaSalle Medical Associates formed an Independent Practice Association (IPA) in 1995, and has grown it to the point it now serves more than 600 medical clinics serving more than 170,000 patients each year in nine California counties.
LaSalle oversees administrative functions of all these medical clinics, although they are owned and manage their patients’ health care separately.
Another move to make health care more efficient, in many ways, is one that LaSalle Medical Associates only recently transitioned to. It now is keeping track of patients’ charts with electronic records, ridding itself of the wall full of patients’ medical records that once were a hallmark of many medical clinics.
“Electronic records make it easier to share patients’ records among a team of doctors who treat one patient, which results in better health care” Dr. Arteaga said. “It is also easier to keep patients’ records confidential this way.”
One other significant change over the last 30 years has been that most patients are more involved in their health care now than they were in 1984.
“They ask more questions now. Because of the Internet, and because people talk more about health care with their friends, patients now have more information. Not all of the information out there is correct, so this means a doctor helps the patient sort the good from the bad, and develop a treatment plan that works. This is another reason why the managed care approach is necessary.”
One thing Dr. Arteaga has learned during his three decades of medical practice is that change can be good. In fact, one thing he loves about being the CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates is that he gets to lead other health care professionals through the changes their industry faces.
“I love being collegial, and helping other doctors learn,” he said. “When they resist change, it is going to be more difficult for them. They should not expect to practice medicine as it was done 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago.”
LaSalle’s clinics are located at 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana phone (909) 823-4454, 16455 Main St. in Hesperia phone (760) 947-2161, and 1505 West 17th St. phone (760) 947-2161 and 565 N. Mt. Vernon Ave. phone (909) 884-9091 in San Bernardino.
For more information about LaSalle Medical Associates, call (909) 890-0407 or go on line to LaSalleMedical.com.
About LaSalle Medical Associates
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc., operates four clinics employing more than 120 dedicated healthcare professionals, treating children, adults, and seniors in San Bernardino County. LaSalle’s patients are primarily served by Medi-Cal and they also accept IEHP, Molina, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Care 1st, and Health Net and Medicare by Easy Choice Health Plan, Molina and Care1st Health Plans.
LaSalle’s clinics are located at 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana phone (909) 823-4454, 16455 Main St. in Hesperia phone (760) 947-2161, and 1505 West 17th St. phone (760) 947-2161 and 565 N. Mt. Vernon Ave. phone (909) 884-9091 in San Bernardino.
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc., is also an Independent Practice Association (IPA) of independently contracted doctors, hospitals and clinics, delivering high quality patience care with more than 170,000 patient visits per year in Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin and Tulare Counties.
LaSalle’s IPA members in the Inland Empire include: LaSalle Medical Associates, Banning Medical Group and San Bernardino Urological Associates. Hospital affiliations include: Rancho Springs Medical Center, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Community Hospital of San Bernardino, St. Bernadine Medical Center, Mountains Community Hospital, Redland Community Hospital, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Corona Regional Medical Center, Riverside County Medical Center, Parkview Community Hospital, Kaiser Moreno Valley, Kaiser Fontana and Kaiser Riverside.
“Public safety is the cornerstone responsibility of state government,” said Garcia. “Unfortunately bad public policy, high taxes and overbearing regulations continue to drive jobs from our State and undermine an economic recovery. In partnering with local leaders, I will work to incentivize investment and create jobs to ensure we have the resources to fully fund Police and Fire departments and keep our communities safe.”
Palm Desert, CA— Small business owner and former Assemblywoman, Bonnie Garcia continues to build support across Riverside County and today added to a growing list of local leaders that name her the best choice to represent California’s 28th Senate District. Tim Brown, Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Canyon Lake and Daryl Hickman, Mayor Pro Tem for Lake Elsinore both announced their endorsements today.
Daryl Hickman is currently serving his third term on the Lake Elsinore City Council and during that time he has worked with fellow Council Members to balance the city’s budget, incentivize outside investment, and strengthen the relationship between local schools and businesses. His leadership has been instrumental on numerous local projects, most notably the construction of the downtown River Walk.
“Bonnie Garcia is the only candidate in this race who truly has the experience to get things done at the state level,” said Hickman. “Her proven track record, coupled with her commitment to public safety, job creation, and education will provide Riverside County residents with a credible and accountable leader.”
Elected to the State Legislature in 2002, Garcia served three terms in a seat that covered a significant portion of the newly drawn Senate District. Her ability to overcome political partisanship and help pass legislation that toughened penalties on sexual offenders, retained jobs throughout the state and increased government efficiency continues to have an positive impact on the region.
With children born on military bases and raised in a law enforcement family, public safety and service have long been a tradition in Bonnie Garcia’s household. The importance that Garcia has placed on public safety has resulted in a tremendous amount of support from those who have sworn to protect and serve the residents of the District. To date, Garcia’s campaign is supported by organizations such as the California Professional Firefighters Association, California Police Chiefs Association, California Peace Officers Association, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
“Public safety is the cornerstone responsibility of state government,” said Garcia. “Unfortunately bad public policy, high taxes and overbearing regulations continue to drive jobs from our State and undermine an economic recovery. In partnering with local leaders, I will work to incentivize investment and create jobs to ensure we have the resources to fully fund Police and Fire departments and keep our communities safe.”
In addition to Garcia’s commitment to public safety, she has provided a voice for conservative principles that continue to be threatened by a progressive majority in Sacramento. As an Assemblywoman, Garcia never voted for a tax increase and has received an “A” rating from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association as well as the endorsement of Lew Uhler, President of the National Tax Limitation Committee.
“Bonnie has a tremendous amount of experience working on behalf of our local governments, and I know that she will advocate for local control while protecting the rights we cherish,” said Tim Brown.
Bonnie Garcia holds a degree in Workforce Development and Education and has taught Public Policy at Chapman University. She resides with her family in Palm Desert.
To learn more about Bonnie, visit: www.BonnieGarcia.org
###
Paid for by Bonnie Garcia for State Senate 2014
Edit your subscription | Unsubscribe
47260 Sand Sage Ct
Palm Desert, CA 92260
LaSalle Medical Associates cure for Plantar Fasciitis , Inc Celebrates 30 years of medical service with the corporate management team. Left to right: Anna Canton, Human Resource Manager; Kristina Hlebo, Finance Assistant,;Carl Meier, executive vice president; Dr. Albert Arteaga CEO; Alexandra Acosta, Director of Finance and Lizette Noriega, Human Resource Assistant. Alexandra Acosta, Director of Finance and Lizette Noriega, Human Resource Assistant
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) In June of 1984, a young doctor and his wife, a nurse, opened a family medical practice called LaSalle Medical Associates in Fontana. Their goal: provide affordable health care, with dignity and respect, to all in the Inland Empire.
Three decades later, Dr. Albert and Maria Arteaga have gone far beyond making their goal a reality. They are now recognized as one of the leading health care providers in the Inland Empire, if not all of California.
“We have had some markers of success,” Dr. Arteaga says. “We went from two employees – my wife and I – to a fully staffed clinic. We opened more clinics. Then we started our own IPA (independent practice association) to keep up with new demands to make health care more and more efficient.”
“It has always been our goal to treat as many patients as we could while giving them the best health care possible,” he said.
Some, who have recognized LaSalle Medical Associates as a leader in health care, by giving them awards for their endeavors, include:
The federal Center for Disease Control, which recognized Dr. Arteaga as California’s first Childhood Immunization Champion. This award recognized his efforts in educating the parents of LaSalle’s pediatric patients, and the greater Inland Empire community, of the importance of childhood immunizations
The California Medical Association, which recognized Dr. Arteaga with its Ethnic Physician’s Leadership Award, recognizing his contributions to improving health care in the Latino community
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Resolution Award for outstanding community efforts
The San Bernardino County Medical Society’s Merlin Hendrickson, M.D. Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community. Dr. Arteaga was recognized for his efforts to provide health services to Inland Empire children.
Maria and Dr. Albert Arteaga. The California Medical Association awarded Abert Arteaga the “Ethnic Physician’s Leadership Award,” recognizing his contributions to medical care in the Latino community.
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), as Riverside and San Bernardino counties’ best health care provider, and for being one of the top enrollers in all of California in the state’s former Healthy Families program
The African American Health Initiative as a model provider in a two-year study of Black health care in San Bernardino County.
Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine, which recognized LaSalle Medical Associates as one of the top 15 Latino-owned businesses in the Inland Empire
Despite all this success, it hasn’t always been an easy path for the Arteagas.
“Life doesn’t always play out as you expect,” Dr. Arteaga said. “That is certainly true in my life as a health care provider. Good intentions require good management. Providing good management has been every bit as challenging as my years in medical school were more than three decades ago!”
One of the biggest changes in health care took place just this year. In 2014, Covered California part of the federal Affordable Health Care Act – which Dr. Arteaga has long been a champion of – came into being.
“Although Covered California does not yet mean everyone has insurance, it does mean that many patients who couldn’t afford health care before now can do so,” Dr. Arteaga said. “Health care is no longer an out-of-reach luxury for those who couldn’t afford insurance, but is a basic right for everyone
Dr. Arteaga has always thought that health care is a basic right, and has operated LaSalle Medical Associates as if that were the case.
Dr. Arteaga targeted his marketing to Latinos and low-income people who were underserved. Providing high quality medical services to underserved populations were crucial to the success of LaSalle Medical Associates. They later expanded from Fontana to San Bernardino and Hesperia. These communities have many low-income people in need of quality affordable medical services.
He also is Latino, so he easily related to his Latino patients in ways they appreciated. They told friends and family about LaSalle Medical Associates, which caused his popularity in the Inland Empire’s Latino culture to swell.
RN Maria and Dr. Albert Arteaga partners in healthcare and family Ce;berate 30 years of Making People Healthier in California.
Dr. Arteaga has always believed that his key to business success was finding a way to get paid for their services, instead of telling patients they had to figure that out on their own before seeing him. For most of LaSalle’s history, that business model meant LaSalle employees educated patients about their health care insurance options.
Most patients LaSalle saw over the years qualified for either Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. The latter, which like Medi-Cal was run by the state of California, offered low to moderate-income parents who didn’t qualify for Medi-Cal a subsidy for the health care of their children from birth to age 19.
Many uninsured families with children under 19 can get help through the Healthy Families program; help is also available to some children and adults through Medi-Cal. For those who don’t qualify for these programs, the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 provides additional options. Photo by: Albert Ateaga
Things have changed in the last two years. In 2013, California got a head start on the Affordable Care Act; they created Covered California and merged Healthy Families and Medi-Cal together.
In 2014, one of the key Covered California’s requirements is everyone must have health insurance or pay a penalty. This means, many patients applied and signed up for Covered California, Medi-Cal or other insurance first, and then choose or are assigned to LaSalle Medical Associates.
Consequently, rather than informing new patients of their insurance options, LaSalle Medical Associates employees now more likely are helping the patients understand how their health insurance system works.
Dr. Arteaga acknowledges the Covered California has brought changes some people will take a while to get accustomed to. One of these is a concept called managed care.
“The structure of the Covered California means many people, both those who had some other type of insurance and those who were uninsured, are now in managed care for the first time,” he said. Managed care is called this because it requires a doctor, such as one of the physicians in LaSalle Medical Associates, to coordinate patients’ health care services. These primary care doctors have a general, family or pediatric practice, and will treat patients for many of their symptoms, but will refer the patients to specialists when more expertise is needed.
Managed care has been around since the 1990s, Dr. Arteaga said, but it has become more popular. It’s usually more cost-efficient to have managed care, he explained, people choose to buy managed care for its lower premiums.
Medi-Cal has used managed care for nearly two decades. Meanwhile, LaSalle Medical Associates, since the beginning, has accepted Medi-Cal when many doctors would not, and now has a reputation among those familiar with Medi-Cal for providing quality services, no matter how payment is provided.
Even though there wasn’t “managed care,” as it now known when Dr. Arteaga started his practice, even back then he was in favor of patients developing close relationships with one family doctor.
“Thirty years ago I wanted to see all the patients, and manage their health care. That has not changed, but I have learned that in order to do so, a physician must take a leadership role. Otherwise, many patients will seek or demand services that are redundant or not needed.”
Dr. Arteaga sees the physician as an advocate for the patient, one who will make sure patients get the services they truly need. Sometimes, just as some patients will push for more health care than is necessary, some insurance companies will resist paying for what a doctor recommends, but that is not the intent of managed care.
“I want the patient, the doctor and the insurance company to develop a positive team, Dr. Arteaga said. “There may be opposition, but that should not stop any of us in trying to make quality health care succeed.”
Besides managed care and its great expansion through the Affordable Care Act, another large change in the health care industry over the last three decades has been more careful monitoring of expenses by insurance companies.
Now, it is better for a medical group like LaSalle Medical Associates to band with even more doctors, so they can take advantage of economies of scale, and provide health care more cost-efficiently.
This is why LaSalle Medical Associates formed an Independent Practice Association (IPA) in 1995, and has grown it to the point it now serves more than 600 medical clinics serving more than 170,000 patients each year in nine California counties.
LaSalle oversees administrative functions of all these medical clinics, although they are owned and manage their patients’ health care separately.
Another move to make health care more efficient, in many ways, is one that LaSalle Medical Associates only recently transitioned to. It now is keeping track of patients’ charts with electronic medical records, ridding itself of the wall full of patients’ medical records that once were a hallmark of many medical clinics.
“Electronic medical records make it easier to share patients’ records among a team of doctors who treat one patient, which results in better health care” Dr. Arteaga said. “It is also easier to keep patients’ records confidential this way.”
One other significant change over the last 30 years has been that most patients are more involved in their health care now than they were in 1984.
“They ask more questions now. Because of the Internet, and because people talk more about health care with their friends, patients now have more information. Not all of the information out there is correct, so this means a doctor helps the patient sort the good from the bad, and develop a treatment plan that works. This is another reason why the managed care approach is necessary.”
“As pediatricians, we strive for 100 percent immunizations of pediatric patients and, while that’s probably a utopian objective, our goal is to get as close as to that 100 percent as we can,’’ says Dr. Albert Arteaga, president and founder of LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. . “This CDC recognition is the fruit of two to three years of intense labor on part of me and staff.”
One thing Dr. Arteaga has learned during his three decades of medical practice is that change can be good. In fact, one thing he loves about being the CEO of LaSalle Medical Associates is that he gets to lead other health care professionals through the changes their industry faces.
“I love being collegial, and helping other doctors learn,” he said. “When they resist change, it is going to be more difficult for them. They should not expect to practice medicine as it was done 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago.”
On the first day, owner Dr. Albert Arteaga and his wife Maria then employed as his nurse and still his chief assistant saw two patients at their clinic in Fontana. Today, LaSalle Medical Associates has grown to four clinics and 120 employees, and an Independent Practice Association (IPA) serving more than 1,900 doctors.
In the end is true LaSalle Medical Associates has spent Three Decades Making People Healthier.
For more information about LaSalle Medical Associates, call (909) 890-0407 or go on line to LaSalleMedical.com.
About LaSalle Medical Associates
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc., operates four clinics employing more than 120 dedicated healthcare professionals, treating children, adults, and seniors in San Bernardino County. LaSalle’s patients are primarily served by Medi-Cal and they also accept IEHP, Molina, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Care 1st, and Health Net and Medicare by Easy Choice Health Plan, Molina and Care1st Health Plans. LaSalle’s clinics are located at 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana, 16455 Main St. in Hesperia and1505 West 17th St. and 565 N. Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino.
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc., is also an Independent Practice Association (IPA) of independently contracted doctors, hospitals and clinics, delivering high quality patience care with more than 170,000 patient visits per year in Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin and Tulare Counties.
LaSalle’s IPA members in the Inland Empire include: LaSalle Medical Associates, Banning Medical Group and San Bernardino Urological Associates. Hospital affiliations include: Rancho Springs Medical Center, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Community Hospital of San Bernardino, St. Bernadine Medical Center, Mountains Community Hospital, Redland Community Hospital, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Corona Regional Medical Center, Riverside County Medical Center, Parkview Community Hospital, Kaiser Moreno Valley, Kaiser Fontana and Kaiser Riverside.
Dameron Communications creates newsletters for cities, counties, colleges, universities, shopping centers, developers, retailers, computer stores, doctors, medical clinics, Non-Profits, attorneys, schools ad more…
(SAN BERNARDINO, CA.) “Dameron Communicators, that’s what we call the newsletter designs,” says Carl Dameron, founder and creative director of the public relations/advertising firm Dameron Communications. “These newsletters boost awareness and business for all clients who come on board.”
“We won’t just design, write and produce printed editions,” adds Dameron, “we’ll also create a social network strategy, and post them on all the major industry websites, create an electronic version for distribution via email and to post on client Web sites.”
“Our clients will get the broadest possible exposure for their services, offerings and successes. Plus, what goes in the newsletters will also be sent to all media outlets in their service area. For Inland Empire clients that’s potential exposure to 4.2 million potential customers,” said Dameron.
“We now how to pull the good stories out of good businesses,” Dameron says, “we know how to tell it, and tell it to more people than ever before.”
Newsletters are designed, written or produced in full color, and are available in two-page, to 64-page formats up to 500,000 units.
Since 1989 Dameron Communications has creatively met the needs of our diverse client base in California. It is an award-winning agency that creates integrated advertising and public relations solutions to increase clients’ sales and profits, win elections, inform the public or gain acceptance of potentially controversial issues.
Dameron Communications creates advertising for television, radio, newspaper, magazine, and billboards, web sites, mobile web applications, email and more. Public relations services include press releases, press conferences, media relations, television programs, web sites, opinion editorials, promotions, event creation and management, government relations and community relations.
Dameron has earned media coverage for clients from: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, CBS MarketWatch; Fox News, CNN, Nightly Business Report; The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Dow Jones News Wire, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, The Press Enterprise, The Sun, The Daily Bulletin, The Orange County Register, The Daily News, The Daily Press and many more.
For more information call Carl Dameron at (909) 534-9500.
Dr. Judy White, superintendent of the Moreno Valley Unified School District
Published On : 2/26/2014 7:30 AM
By : Ken Vincent
From : KVCR
Categories : A few years ago, the Moreno Valley schools were in trouble. However, under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Judy White, the Moreno Valley Unified School District has dramatically turned around, and now has received applause from state education officials, the state teachers’ union, local businesses, and parents of kids who attend Moreno Valley schools. KVCR’s Ken Vincent has a conversation with Superintendent White about how she and the community have pulled together the elements of success in the Moreno Valley School District.
Listen to Podcast http://kvcr.org/News/Stories/2014/February/0226_Superintendent_Brings_Success_to_Moreno_Valley_Schools
The LaGrant Foundation selected Carl M. Dameron, founder and creative director of Dameron Communications to host its first Inland Empire career development workshop for students interested in pursuing a career in advertising or public relations. The Delta Sigma Theta Sorority cosponsors the workshop. Photo by Robert A. Whitehead/CSUSB
(San Bernardino, CA) Looking for a great speaker on advertising and public relations? Choose Carl Dameron, Creative Director of Dameron Communications. He is funny, direct and delivers actionable information you can put to work right away! Carl has more than 30 years of successful experience driving national and regional advertising and public relations.
Carl is available to speak on several advertising and public relations topics including:
Advertising – How to create Advertising that works from flyers to TV commercials and everything in between
Public Relations – How to get media coverage and increase the positive perception of your organization
Government Relations – How to get elected officials to listen and how to leverage their network
Community Relations – How get the community to support your goals and objectives
At the Hesperia House ribbon cutting in October of this year Habitat for Humanity ReStore Manager Jon Biggs with Hesperia City Council Member Russell “Russ” Blewett and Tim Garcia Habitat for Humanity construction manager
(Redlands, CA) Once upon a time, if a family wanted to build a home, everyone in the community would welcome its new neighbors by pitching in and helping. The home would quickly rise up from the ground, and the grateful new residents of this community would show their gratitude by becoming productive citizens who, in turn, helped other neighbors.
Today, an organization called Habitat for Humanity provides that same kind of help; by organizing community volunteers to help deserving low-income families who as an example make up to $50,950 a year for a family of four build their first home.
It isn’t quite as simple though as it was “once upon a time.” For one thing, in the 21st Century, there are a myriad of law governing how people build houses, and there are permits that must be obtained from several local government agencies. It also takes a great deal of skill and knowledge to put together the type of home in which a modern family would feel comfortable.
To make all of that happen a professional construction manager is essential. At Habitat for Humanity, San Bernardino Area, this construction manager is licensed general contractor Tim Garcia.
“Tim is a professional contractor who is dedicated to his work,” said Dennis Baxter, executive director of the Habitat for Humanity of San Bernardino. “And he is a man who does many good things for his community.”
Garcia has had a relationship with Habitat for Humanity of San Bernardino almost since it began. This connection started at the First Presbyterian Church of San Bernardino, where Garcia and Habitat for Humanity of San Bernardino chapter founder, San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, both attend.
Mayor Morris started the local Habitat chapter in 1992 after working with one of the international organization’s most famous volunteers, former United States President Jimmy Carter. At the beginning, the Mayor’s church got on board by sending teams of volunteers to Habitat for Humanity’s building projects.
Two years later, Garcia signed up for one of those teams, and thoroughly enjoyed this service. Not only did he volunteer many times after that, he also served as a member of the Board of Directors from 1999-2001 and as resident from 2001–2002.
He enjoyed his contributions to Habitat for Humanity hence since 2004; Garcia has been a part-time employee of Habitat for Humanity, serving as its construction manager.
“That meant they started paying me for the things I was already doing,” Garcia said. “It is my job to train and supervise all the volunteers, which I had been doing as a volunteer.”
Tim Garcia Habitat for Humanity construction manager
Garcia also has a full-time job managing his own business, Inland Construction, which provides remodeling and building services to the general public. He has been a licensed general contractor since 2003, and worked in construction for a decade before.
Habitat for Humanity has thousands of chapters throughout the world, including 15 in southern California. The San Bernardino chapter, established in 1992 by current San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, serves most of San Bernardino County. Its territory extends from Fontana to Yucaipa, and north to the desert and Victor Valley areas.
Garcia is a long time resident of San Bernardino and the son of community leaders and philanthropists Ernie and Dottie Garcia.
All Habitat for Humanity organizations acquire either vacant land or dilapidated homes. From these, Habitat creates quality homes, and provides financial assistance to carefully selected families who will receive these homes when they are complete. The families contribution includes 500 hours of sweat equity in the Habitat for Humanity projects, pay zero interest and pay monthly mortgages of about $500 to $700 a month.
The adults in these families work with Habitat for Humanity staff and community volunteers to construct the homes, although the projects are managed and supervised by licensed general contractors. Since it has volunteer labor, and often uses donated supplies, it constructs homes for less cost than typical construction.
The San Bernardino chapter serves San Bernardino County communities between Fontana and Yucaipa, as well as the Mountain Communities of Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead, and Crestline, and the Upper Desert towns of Hesperia, Apple Valley and Victorville.
Habitat for Humanity has plans to build seven homes in San Bernardino and Grand Terrace for families that as an example make up to $50,950 for a family of four.
To donate, volunteer or for more information, go online to www.habitatsb.org, or call Habitat for Humanity at (909) 478-1176.
About Habitat for Humanity San Bernardino Area, Inc.
Habitat for Humanity San Bernardino Area is the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a faith-based nonprofit organization that works in partnership with families to strengthen communities and transform lives by building new homes, rehabilitating existing homes, and making affordable home ownership a reality for community members in need.
Habitat for Humanity San Bernardino Area serves San Bernardino County communities between Fontana and Yucaipa, as well as the Mountain Communities of Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead, and Crestline, and the Upper Desert towns of Hesperia, Apple Valley and Victorville.
The Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a deep discounted home improvement store that sells building materials, appliances, home accessories, and furniture. The ReStore accepts donated goods, which are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price. All proceeds are used to fund the administration and rehabilitation or construction of Habitat for Humanity homes.
To find out more about Habitat for Humanity, call 909-478-1176 or visit www.HabitatSB.org. We also ask you to LIKE us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SBReStore.
