El simpaticon de la clinica Ravenswood – Mil Gracias

One year ago Luis Quinones came to the clinic as a volunteer medical assistant. He was in a holding pattern, waiting to find out if he was accepted into medical school. Fortunately for RFHC, in the interim he joined our staff as the coordinator of RAP, our pharmaceutical assistance program for the uninsured. Now, he’s leaving, beginning UC Davis Medical School in mid-September.

As the RAP Coordinator, our providers refer uninsured patients to him to apply for free medications. He leads the patient through the process of filling out the forms, gathers documentation and submits them to the appropriate pharmaceutical companies. The companies then send the free medicine to the clinic for the patients to pick up. In the past year, Luis saved a total of $76,750 in pharmaceutical costs that the clinic would otherwise have had to cover.

“He’s been a real asset to the clinic,” Dr. Jaime Chavarria said. “He’s really good with the patients. He’s low-key and he always gets the job done.” Our family nurse practitioners Amy Wolf and Deborah Heuerman commented on how quickly he learned and how meticulous he has been. It’s a relief for them to know he will see the patient through the daunting application process.

In the process Luis has gained understanding about practical realities of medicine that are not taught in medical school. He’s learned that it’s not just a matter of getting free medicine for patients, but that often the real challenge is to get the patient to comply with the care plan.

Luis was born in Mexico and came to Santa Barbara at the age of eleven. His abilities led him to Swarthmore College. He graduated with a degree in engineering, but his interests extend beyond engineering to music, a capella singing, salsa dancing, and the Brazilian martial art called capoeira.

Once Luis decided he wanted to be a doctor, he enrolled in pre-med courses at San Francisco State and then applied to medical school. He’s interested in family practice and pediatrics at the community level. At his farewell luncheon he remarked, “My experience here has reinforced the desire to work in community medicine.”