MedLaw Project Brings Together Lawyers, Doctors and Community Leaders




Santa Ana, CA (May 8, 2008) - - Physicians, attorneys, UCI faculty and staff, elected officials and community leaders will be on hand as University of California, Irvine and Legal Aid Society of Orange County launch their medical-legal partnership on May 16, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UC Irvine Family Health Center-Santa Ana, 800 North Main Street, Santa Ana.



In late 2007, upon recognizing a significant overlap between the client communities of the two organizations, Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC) and University of California, Irvine Medical Center Family Health Center-Santa Ana (UCI FHC) collaborated to create MedLaw Project, an initiative which will combine two powerful disciplines for the purpose of training, delivering direct legal services and engaging in advocacy activities aimed at improving the health outcomes of underserved children and their families.



Celebrating 50 years of service this year, the mission of LASOC is to provide civil legal services to low-income individuals and to promote equal access to the justice system through advocacy, legal counseling, innovative self-help resources, in-depth legal representation, economic development and community education. LASOC's client community consists of individuals whose incomes fall at or below 125% to 200% of the federal poverty threshold and any individual over the age of 60.



The UCI FHC furthers the mission of the Family Medicine Residency Program at the University of California, Irvine to train family physicians to succeed in a contemporary practice environment and to deliver high quality medical care to a culturally and socio-economically diverse patient population. The UCI FHC is committed to serving the entire community of Santa Ana and the surrounding area, particularly its underserved population.



The mission of MedLaw Project is to help ensure that the children of Santa Ana and its surrounding areas obtain and keep their basic needs - for food, housing, education, health care, safety and stability - by improving front-line health care staff's capacity to screen, identify, triage and refer basic needs and recognize legal issues. To this end, MedLaw Project will: a) provide direct legal services (including advocacy) to low-income families who are served by the UCI FHC; b) establish and maintain a close relationship between the doctors at the UCI FHC and LASOC staff in order to determine the needs of the target population and how to address them; c) implement an education component for health care providers, medical students and residents, as well graduate students in law, public health and other related disciplines; and d) have an evaluation plan that will measure the outcomes of the Project.



MedLaw Project has received startup support from Boston Medical Center's Medical Legal Partnership for Children, which has since expanded its initial model to other sites throughout the nation.



According to California Medical Association CEO and former California State Senator Joe Dunn, who is scheduled to speak at the Kick-Off, "MedLaw Project is a good model of cross-professional cooperation which can improve the overall well-being of disadvantaged individuals. I commend UCI FHC and Legal Aid Society of Orange County for initiating this innovative project."



Dr. Michael P. Clark, UCI's Vice Provost for Academic Planning adds, "Collaboration between the University of California, Irvine, and Legal Aid Society of Orange County at the UCI Family Health Center in Santa Ana is an important step forward in providing more effective health care to the underserved and low-income children in Orange County. Legal and medical issues are closely connected, especially for that segment of our community. This partnership with LASOC should enhance access to the services provided by our School of Medicine at the clinic, and it will help resolve many of the non-medical obstacles to the well-being of these children and their families."



MedLaw Project is spearheaded by Charles Vega, M.D., FAAFP; Cecilia Florio, M.D., MPH, Medical Director, UCI Family Health Center; Cecilia Gonzalez, Chief Administrator, UCI Family Health Center; Nancy Rimsha, Esq., Directing Attorney of LASOC's Health Consumer Action Center; Anna Lisa Biason, LASOC Director of Fund Development; and Jami Teagle-Burgos, LASOC Health Advocate.



The MedLaw Project Kick-Off and Press Conference is free and open to the public. It will take place at the University of California, Irvine Family Health Center located at 800 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Prior reservation is required. For more information, contact Anna Lisa Biason, LASOC Director of Fund Development, at 714-571-5220 or abiason@legal-aid.com.




About University of California, Irvine Medical Center (Family Health Center-Santa Ana)



The University of California, Irvine Family Health Center (UCI FHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center which serves the dual purposes of providing high-quality medical care to an indigent and multicultural community while also serving as the heart of the UCI Family Medicine Residency Program. The UCI FHC is committed to underserved populations and provides approximately 20% of the safety net care in Orange County, the country's fifth largest county by population. The core Family Medicine faculty who care for patients at UCI FHC share an interest in health care for the underserved and pass along their knowledge and values to students and residents. The UCI FHC provides multiple services to ensure the overall wellbeing of patients. In addition to having providers, staff, learners and translators that speak Spanish and English, staff and providers also speak Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Farsi, and other languages. The importance of communication and respect for ethnic and racial diversity is inculcated as part of our clinic culture. In addition, UCI FHC offers an array of health and social services, from psychological counseling to dentistry to minor surgeries and social work visits, which promote the health of our patients and greater community.

About Legal Aid Society of Orange County

Legal Aid Society of Orange County (LASOC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded by a group of local attorneys in 1958 to serve the legal needs of the County's low-income individuals and seniors. In 1984, LASOC expanded its service area to southeast Los Angeles County, where it is known as Community Legal Services (CLS). LASOC's areas of priority are: 1) providing support for the family; 2) preserving the home; 3) maintaining economic stability; 4) ensuring safety, stability and health; 5) assisting populations with special vulnerabilities; 6) continuing the delivery of legal services (including direct representation); and 7) giving advice, counsel and referral. The services that LASOC has been providing for 50 years protect spouses and children from domestic violence; safeguard the elderly against fraud and abuse; help families, children and the elderly obtain health insurance and other benefits; assist the homeless with their legal issues to help them become self-sufficient; provide individuals with help in filing taxes, resolving tax controversies and claiming credits to which they are entitled; and encourage economic development through its Earned Income Tax Credit / I-CAN! E-File Program.



LASOC's practice areas and special programs in its Santa Ana, Anaheim, Compton and Norwalk offices include: Health Consumer Action Center; MedLaw Project: A University of California, Irvine Medical Center-LASOC Medical-Legal Partnership; Domestic Violence Prevention Program; Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Center; Homeless Outreach Program; Housing and Landlord/Tenant Issues; Foreclosure Prevention; Senior Citizens Legal Advocacy Program; Asian Language Legal Assistance Program; Low Income Taxpayers Clinic; Government Benefits; Special Education; Consumer Law; and Bankruptcy. Other LASOC-affiliated special programs are: Legal Resolutions Center, Lawyer Referrals Service, and Small Claims Advisor Program. For more information, visit www.legalaidturns50.com or contact Anna Lisa Biason.