In honor of National Doctors Day, Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) recently announced two significant donations in San Bernardino County.

The first donation is that of time -- more than 3,000 volunteer hours donated by SCPMG physicians to local community clinics since 2010. What began as a few physicians volunteering at one clinic that year has evolved into more than 30 physicians volunteering at five local safety net clinics providing free medical care to more than 2,700 underserved and uninsured patients in San Bernardino County. The physicians now regularly volunteer at Kids Come First Community Health Center in Ontario, Bloomington Community Health Center in Bloomington, and H Street Clinic and Al-Shifa Clinic in San Bernardino.

The second is a monetary donation to two local non-profit community organizations -- one for $4,000 to Healthy Fontana and the other for $2,500 to Healthy in Pomona.

Healthy Fontana will use the funds for its Lets Get Fit on the Trail program. The donation will fund outdoor physical fitness equipment to be placed along the Pacific Electric Trail in Fontana, between Sierra and Cypress avenues.

The mission of the Healthy Fontana program is to promote a healthy lifestyle, teach smart nutrition choices, and work toward the creation of an active, livable community to improve the quality of life for Fontana residents.

Healthy Fontana aims to improve the overall health of all Fontana residents; however, the program makes an effort to ensure that the city's most underserved populations, including those which are low-income and at higher risk for experiencing health problems, receive the services they need to improve their quality of life.

This donation aims to help children, adults, and seniors increase their physical activity in a fun and safe way.

Southern California Permanente Medical Group physicians are committed to creating healthier communities, said Dr. David Quam, area medical director and chief of staff. We seek ways to make a positive impact on local organizations that promote active living. These donations are gifts from all of our exceptionally caring doctors to the members of our communities.

Physician volunteers were also recognized at the Doctors Day events. The Physician Volunteer Engagement Program supports Kaiser Permanentes social mission of caring for the communities it serves, and is led by Michael Takehara, MD, assistant area medical director. It is part of the medical centers Community Benefit program, which supports the Safety Net of nonprofit community clinics throughout San Bernardino County. The Physician Volunteer Engagement Program augments the clinics primary care, and provides specialty care in the fields of dermatology, nephrology, orthopedics, rheumatology, physical medicine, facial and plastic surgery, psychiatry and neurology in addition to health education and advice.

This is the second year in a row that SCPMG physicians in San Bernardino County have made major donations on National Doctors Day. Last year, donations totaling $5,000 were made to the Ontario Wheelhouse and Redlands Bike BBQ, both non-profit organizations which support cycling.

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Healthy Fontana program receives donation during Doctors Day presentation