Notices
Volunteer Stories
North Valley female retired physicians
TPMG Retiree Group Napa
Upcoming Luncheons
KP Web Links
Donation of unwanted computers
Society of Medical Friends of Wine
Fabiola Hospital
Fabiola Hospital founded and run by women
By Erika Mailman
Oakland Heritage Alliance News, Vol. 40, No.1, Spring 2020
A doctor once told the newspaper, “I can save this patient if I can find a Fabiola Nurse.” Fabiola was established in 1887 by Kate E. Kirkham, who was inspired by seeing a serious accident near her home and lamenting the long travel time for the victim to reach the San Leandro hospital ten miles away, a long, bumpy wagon ride.
Kirkham convinced 17 other women to pledge a $50 donation, and the hospital’s first iteration began on Market Street, near 25th Street, called the Oakland Homeopathic Hospital and Dispensary. It was only large enough for one patient. In 1883, the institution moved to Alice and 11th Streets, with private rooms for patients.
When Fabiola Hospital opened four years later, it was under the dictate that management would always be in the hands of a woman, and every staff doctor would be a woman. Fabiola offered Oakland its very first ambulance and dietary hospital kitchen, and offered health care to those who couldn’t afford it: all self-sufficient and without governmental funding. Anthony Chabot donated the land for the hospital.
By the time of the 1918 flu, Kirkham had been dead 21 years, but surely would have been proud of how her staff cared for patients. Over the years, Fabiola expanded, including a Julia Morgan-built nursing home across Broadway. The Great Depression spelled the end for the hospital, which closed in 1932. Its main and associated buildings were demolished in 1933, except for the 1923 maternity hospital, which in 1942 reopened as the first Kaiser Permanent hospital (torn down in 2005). And that’s why the Kaiser Permanente building on Howe Street is named the Fabiola Building.
Addendum: The Oakland Heritage Alliance newsletter of Spring 2020, Vol. 40, No. 1, contains an excellent and thorough review of the 1918 influenza pandemic in the Oakland area, with pictures and quotes from local newspapers. See www.oaklandheritage.org.
The Society of Medical Friends of Wine By Elizabeth Kass, MD, SMFW President
The Society of Medical Friends of Wine (SMFW) was founded in 1939 by Leon D. Adams, a noted authority on the Wines of America. His vision for the society was to bring doctors from the Northern California area together in order to stimulate scientific research on wine, to develop an understanding of wine’s beneficial effects, and to foster the good fellowship associated with the proper use of wine.
One of the oldest wine groups in the country, SMFW is now a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to education about the health aspects of moderate consumption of wine. The organization has 4–5 wine and food paired dinners a year plus guided tastings of varietals of wine and of wine and cheese.
Most members of SMFW are physicians, but membership is open to all who share our interests and goals. Guests of members are welcome at society events as space permits.
The Board of Directors of the society currently includes several retired TPMG physicians: David Schwartz, Maynard Johnston, Richard Geist, Elizabeth Kass, and Bob Blumberg, who also serves as the society’s Cellar Master. We’d like to invite you to check out our website: http://www.medicalfriendsofwine.org/ If you’d like to learn more about the society by attending one of our events, click the “Contact Us” tab on the website and let us know. Applications for membership from interested individuals are gladly accepted and an electronic membership application form can be found on our website. Applications may also be requested from our Executive Secretary, Claire Bloomberg Keiser, by emailing her at claireanswerb@gmail.com or calling (415) 309-4079.
The Society of Medical Friends of Wine offers enjoyable and educational experiences with great food and wine. I hope that you’ll join us!
Tom Ewing (1/2020)
After I retired in 2010 I was searching for a way to continue to contribute to medicine. I investigated volunteering at Alameda County Medical Center because I remembered Richard Godfrey was volunteering in the Breast Clinic there. I knew that Johara Chapman, a former colleague at Kaiser Oakland, was the chief of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the Alameda County hospital so I called her. She told me they didn’t have a gynecologic oncologist and were referring all their gynecologic cancer cases to UCSF. I wasn’t available for surgery but I filled a need triaging their patients and doing follow-up one day a week for 8 years. I also participated on their tumor board. They greatly appreciated my service and I very much liked my patients and working with the staff.
A second volunteer opportunity I participated in was the Second Opinion organization in San Francisco. It provides a service for patients seeking a second opinion who have gynecologic cancers. My second retirement in 2018 as a volunteer ended my medical practice. I’m happy that I was able to extend my time as a practicing physician and was able to continue to contribute.
Currently I play tennis three times a week, swim daily at Berkeley City Club (BCC), workout the UCB Recreational Sports facility across the street, participate in the BCC monthly book club. My wife and I travel and spend time with family, enjoy grandchildren and friends.
Deanie Hubbell (1/23/2020)
I’ve been volunteering at the Women's Cancer Resource Center in Berkeley since I retired from TPMG about 8 years ago. It’s a non-profit that provides free non-clinical services to women with cancer in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Services include support groups, workshops, classes, financial grants, navigation guides to help access medical care, and community advocates to do outreach. The center also partners with UCSF Mt. Zion’s Friend to Friend specialty outlet to provide wigs and prostheses, and it hosts SF’s thesecondopinion meetings once a month.
My personal role is staffing an information and referral helpline, answering questions and finding resources for clients. I also have a roster of 15-20 clients whom I call regularly to offer emotional support. For me, it’s a gratifying experience as well as one that keeps me in touch with the status of health care delivery and the challenges to patients in our community.
The volunteer commitment is for a minimum of six months, with a flexible number of weekly hours. Roles include working with the information and referral network, community health advocates, and navigation services; as well as administrative and fundraising positions. Since you provide no clinical services, insurance coverage is not necessary.
The facility is at 2908 Ellsworth St, Berkeley, and the volunteer coordinator is Audrey Shoji <audrey@wcrc.org>. For details of volunteer opportunities and/or donations, see <https://WCRC.org>
Guillerma Mendoza
Guillermo Mendoza, retired Vacaville allergist and immunologist, writes: “Since retiring from TPMG in 2016 I’ve been mentoring the Bay Area Breathmobile®, which sends a well-equipped vehicle and a medical crew to grade schools to provide onsite asthma care. They’ve been in Alameda County for several years but recently expanded to Contra Costa and are adding Vallejo soon. They impart pretty state-of-the-art care via pediatricians and NPs and can do spirometry in the Breathmobile.
It’s been rewarding. I’m happy to be a resource for Breathmobile and do whatever I can to enlist interested family practice and pediatric physicians and NPs with asthma care interests. <grmendoza45@gmail.com>; <mfrazier13@yahoo.com>; <https://breathmobile-nca.org/>
TPMG Retiree Group Napa (posted 1/8/19)
Bonnie Richardson, a retired TPMG family physician, would like to form a local TPMG retiree group in Napa. She is planning to host a lunch meeting in the near future. If you would be interested in joining such a group or hearing about meetings, please contact Bonnie at
bfjael@gmail.com or call or text her at 707 287 8248.
North Valley female retired physicians (posted 10/10/17):
A group in the Sacramento area gets together quarterly to enjoy lunch and other activities (museums, art galleries, cooking class, potlucks, etc). For more info contact sobhakollipara@hotmail.com
Upcoming Luncheons:
(Usually first Saturdays in Feb., Aug., Nov.; formerly second Sat. in May but this is in flux). Full details and ordering info on the Luncheon Meetings page, when the information becomes available.
Donation of unwanted computers and parts:
Tech Exchange (formerly Oakland Technology Exchange or OTX), an Oakland non-profit organization in operation for 20 years, takes donated computer equipment, refurbishes it, and then makes it available to local residents at little or no cost. Donors are entitled to tax credits, and OTX promises to scrub hard drives of all data. They seek:
Desktop and laptop computers (PC and Apple) - working or not
LCD monitors
Keyboards and mice
Hard drives, cables, etc.