Holiday 2024 Newsletter
The Holiday Season is here again - whether you celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any of the many other special days that come this time of year - it's a time for joy, sharing, and family. We here at VIM wanted to share a few updates with you, along with our wishes for a happy and safe holiday season!
VIM San Diego: Empowering Change, Transforming Lives
Like most years, this one has had its share of ups and downs. Fortunately, we've had more ups than downs this year, and we wanted to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and generosity towards us and our mission as a free medical clinic serving low-income, uninsured residents of San Diego. With your contributions, we have achieved notable milestones and positively impacted the lives of individuals who couldn’t otherwise afford care. Together, we have upheld our commitment to care for patients at no charge when they have no other avenue for medical care.
Over the past year, your support has helped us achieve the following:
Medical Services: Through our medical care, we have directly impacted the lives of over 1,200 people so far this year, 45 of them new patients. Your donations have enabled us to provide primary and specialty care, along with imaging and labs services that have made a life changing impact on the health and well-being of those who would otherwise not receive this comprehensive health care.
New Dietitian & Diabetic Program: We are proud to announce the successful launch of our Diabetic program which addresses the issues our pre-diabetic and diabetic patients face. With your support, and the generosity of our new volunteer dietitian, we have made great strides in directly addressing their needs.
As we look toward 2025, we are excited to share our upcoming projects and initiatives. However, we cannot tackle these ambitious goals without your continued support. We kindly request your participation in empowering change and transforming lives by making a generous donation to Volunteers in Medicine San Diego today. Our goal is to reach $20,000 in donations by the end of the year.
Your gift will support future initiatives that improve patient outcomes, including:
Relocation to a local community center in El Cajon: By contributing, you will help us relocate our clinic operations to a more centralized and populated location in El Cajon. This new location will give us the ability to reach even more of the uninsured in our community.
Expansion of VIM Services: Your donation will enable us to support our outreach team by providing educational materials, interpreters, and medical supplies that will substantially expand our ability to reach more people directly in their neighborhoods. This will greatly increase the number of people we can serve.
We deeply value and appreciate every donation. Your support truly makes a difference, creating ripples of positive change in our community. To make your donation, please visit www.vim-sandiego.org/support-us. Please consider sharing this letter with your loved ones who may also want to join our cause. Every additional voice and contribution further amplifies our impact. Thank you once again for your generosity.
Sylvie's Tips For Good Nutrition
For many of us, food plays an important part in our holiday celebrations. Whether it's meals with friends and family, holiday parties, or religious celebrations, food is all around us this time of year.
Healthy holiday eating can be a challenge, especially when complicated by diabetes or other health concerns. Sylvie shared some great tips with our patients for eating out during the holiday season, and we wanted to pass them on to you:
General tips
Plan which foods you want to limit before you go. Also, think about which foods will help you manage your blood sugar.
Check all the options before you serve yourself. Then choose one or two favorite treats along with healthier items to round out your meal.
Watch your portions. Take small servings of fatty, sugary, or salty foods like bacon, pork, desserts, or deep-fried foods.
Come prepared. If possible, bring a low-fat main dish so you and others will have something healthy to eat.
Focus on family and friends instead of the food. One trip to the buffet table may be enough when enjoying the company of loved ones.
Vegetable tips
Fill ½ of your plate with colorful, non-starchy vegetables, like broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, and spinach.
Choose fresh or steamed vegetables that are light on dressing. If you can, make your own dressing for salads with a little olive oil and vinegar.
Watch out for vegetable dishes loaded with butter, cream, or cheese, like casseroles and vegetables with sauce.
Take only a small serving of vegetable dishes cooked with fats like lard or with high-fat meats such as ham hocks or pork belly.
Grain and starch tips
Fill only ¼ of your plate with grain or starchy vegetables, like rice, bread, potatoes, or green peas.
Choose high-fiber grains like steamed brown rice and whole-grain breads like whole wheat and cornbread.
Limit using butter or margarine on bread, rice, and other grains and starches.
Skip or take small portions of starches with heavy sauces like macaroni and cheese and potato salad.
Sweets and dessert tips
Choose fresh fruits, such as pears, apples, strawberries, or melons, without sugar or whipped cream added. Fruit is a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Skip or take small servings of highly sugary or fatty foods like cookies, cakes, cobblers, or pies.
Drink tips
Drink sugar-free beverages like water, or unsweetened coffee or tea.
If you drink alcohol, have no more than one drink a day if you're a woman and no more than two drinks a day if you're a man.
Don't drink alcohol on an empty stomach. Always eat food when drinking alcohol.
Volunteer Spotlight - Hersh Gupta
Volunteer: Hersh Gupta
Number of Years with VIM: almost 3 years
Role: Front Desk Manager/Greeter/Volunteer
Please briefly describe your role at VIM. What do you do?
I manage the front desk to assist physicians and patients. As the first person they see when entering our clinic, I am responsible for making patients feel welcome. After their appointments, I am responsible for scheduling follow-up visits, ordering labs, and providing any information or supplies requested by the
doctors. A significant part of my role is to record requests for prescription refills and communicate them to the physician.
What motivated your volunteer commitment to VIM? What brought you here?
I worked in clinical research at a large hospital that had seemingly endless resources. However, the COVID crisis highlighted that not all patients have access to such facilities. I also wanted to work directly with patients. Volunteering at the VIM clinic was an opportunity to achieve this while helping
underserved communities.
Why do you give your time and talents to support our free clinic?
Regardless of where I am in my life (working, job searching, researching, studying), it is rewarding to dedicate time to helping people. I enjoy facilitating medical care for patients and being able to practice my Spanish!
What impact do you think VIM San Diego makes on our community?
VIM San Diego makes an incredible impact by providing essential healthcare services to individuals who may otherwise have no access to care. It fills a critical gap in the community by ensuring that everyone has a chance at a healthier life, regardless of their financial situation. Beyond physical health, VIM
promotes mental well-being and security, as patients know they have a safe place to receive compassionate care. The ripple effect of this support extends beyond the individuals served, strengthening families and communities as a whole.
Do you have any personal stories that you would like to share as a result of working with VIM?
Working with VIM has exposed me to so many different patients. Some of whom have been truly inspiring. I have met patients who are overcoming challenges such as homelessness, substance abuse, and more. The specific stories are not ones I can share but they certainly drive me to become a physician who can serve a diverse patient population.
