Salinas Valley Health Opens First Pediatric Diabetes Clinic in Monterey County

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843

SALINAS, CA, February 2, 2018-Medical terminology and diagnoses’ can be tough for anyone to articulate, let alone a fourth grader. 10-year-old Quinn Lockwood from Carmel Valley, however, speaks from experience and has no problem expressing the challenges of having Type 1 diabetes. He was one of the speakers today at the grand opening ceremony for Salinas Valley Health’s Pediatric Diabetes Clinic operated in conjunction with UCSF Medical Center.

“It’s hard when you can’t eat when the other kids eat,” explained Quinn Lockwood, a pediatric diabetes patient. “It’s hard when you have to miss a whole day of school to go up to the Bay Area for a doctor’s appointment. It’s hard when you have to monitor your blood sugar levels and take insulin.”

The Lockwood’s and other families will now benefit from a unique new clinic located in Salinas. The Pediatrics Diabetes Clinic located at the Diabetes & Endocrine Center is the only one of its kind in Monterey County. Salinas Valley Health partnered with UC San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center to offer services that will address the growing needs of young people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The partnership was developed to help local families and children diagnosed with diabetes avoid long and time-consuming drives to see pediatric diabetes experts and endocrinologists.

“We are grateful for this partnership with UCSF,” says Allen Radner, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Salinas Valley Health. “We have been working really hard to address the diabetes issue in our county and it’s especially important that children have easy and affordable access to the kind of care that will help them best manage their diabetes at an early age.”

Saleh Adi, MD, Director of the Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes Benioff Children’s Hospital, UCSF, will oversee the program at the Pediatric Diabetes Clinic. Pediatric endocrinologists, diabetes experts, and nurse practitioners from UCSF will be working at the Pediatric Diabetes Clinic in Salinas.

“When it first came up I immediately jumped on the idea of coming to Salinas,” says Saleh Adi, MD, Medical Director of the Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes at the UCSF Medical Center. “It’s a unique opportunity to extend our services to a great but underserved community.”

“This partnership with UCSF is thrilling,” says Dana Armstrong, RD, CDE, Director of Diabetes Services at Salinas Valley Health Clinics Diabetes & Endocrine Center Services. “Right now it is so difficult for some of our families to get to the Bay Area for treatment and care. Now they will have access to world-class care right here in our community.”

“I have been taking my son to Stanford for diabetes treatment for the last eight years,” says Kathy Lockwood, mother of 10-year-old Quinn Lockwood. “Every time I take him to Stanford he misses a full day of school. Now, I’ll be able to schedule his appointments after school and he’ll be seen by a pediatric endocrinologist in Salinas.”

The Pediatric Diabetes Clinic will do more than offer medical services, it also provides a way for young diabetes patients to interact and support one another. Quinn Lockwood echoed what all of the adults at the grand opening expressed, albeit with added emotional and physical enthusiasm. Quinn pumped his fist by his side as he searched for the right words to answer a reporter’s question, “This is huge, huge, I mean huge!”

The new Pediatric Diabetes Clinic is located in the new expanded Salinas Valley Health Clinics Diabetes & Endocrine Center. This center opened in September of 2017 and offers integrated care, diagnostic tests, treatments, preventive care and English and Spanish language education classes as well as group support sessions. The 10,000 square foot facility is located on the second floor of the Primecare medical building on Abbott Street in Salinas. The Pediatric Diabetes Clinic will begin seeing pediatric patients next week.

Editor Note: photos attached: Pediatric Diabetes Clinic ribbon cutting (left to right) Chris Orman, Salinas Valley Health Board of Directors, President; Dana Armstrong, RD, CDE, Director of Diabetes Services at Salinas Valley Health Clinics Diabetes & Endocrine Center; Emily Souda, RN, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner; Quinn Lockwood, Pediatric Diabetes Patient; Saleh Adi, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist & Diabetes Specialist; Allen Radner, MD Chief Medical Officer, Salinas Valley Health. (second photo) Quinn Lockwood speaking at Pediatric Diabetes Clinic grand opening. (third photo in separate attachment and additional photos available by request)

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ABOUT SALINAS VALLEY HEALTH. Salinas Valley Health is an integrated network of healthcare programs, services, and facilities. At the core of the System is an acute care, public district medical center licensed for 263 beds. Several distinct specializations and programs at Salinas Valley Health include the Regional Heart Program, the Stanford Cardiac Surgery Program at Salinas Valley Health Medical Center, Salinas Valley Health Cardiac Wellness, the Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit operated in partnership with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Joint Replacement Center, Regional Spine Center, Sleep Medicine Center and Salinas Valley Health Clinics. Salinas Valley Health features advanced imaging and diagnostic tools, including the Salinas Valley Health Advanced Imaging and the Salinas Valley Health Nancy Ausonio Breast Health Center. Salinas Valley Health employs more than 1,650 people; its medical staff includes more than 300 board-certified physicians across a range of specialties.