Season's Greetings! As winter blankets us in a tapestry of festivities, we are joyfully immersing ourselves in the spirit of the season and reflecting back on the gifts of the last year. Here are a few highlights from 2023 at WFHC... |
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📈 Our team has grown to 95 employees giving WFHC greater capacity to serve the community.
📈 Multiple areas including clinical services, administration, development, and operations welcomed new team members.
📈 The Mobile Medical Unit (MMU), which provides reproductive health services, is back! We are currently servicing Venice High School, Santa Monica College, and Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets High School. Programing will resume at Palisades Charter High School in January!
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Healing Through Play
WFHC welcomed our first pediatric therapist, Kendra Godfrey, AMFT to the mental health team, where she launched Child-Centered Play Therapy.
🧸 What is child-centered play therapy?
"Child-Centered Play Therapy centers around the idea that a child’s language is play, and the words are their toys. As the child plays and communicates through metaphors, I look for themes relating to their experiences. For example, let’s say a child suffered trauma or has an abuse history, then the play may involve them attacking me with a sword, putting me in jail, or maybe I won’t have enough food to eat, or I'll have to go from house to house with nowhere to sleep. And despite desperately needing help, no one comes to help me. Or they can play out the opposite and nurture a baby in a way they were never nurtured. Their play is a direct reflection of their experience. One unique aspect of Child-Centered Play Therapy (compared to other modalities) is that we absolutely trust that a child has the innate capacity to heal themselves. As a child-centered play therapist, it is my job to hold that space for them to be more of themselves and allow them to lead. After all, a child will not change until they are free not to change.
🧸 How have popular understandings of mental health in children changed over the last couple of decades?
"I think for a long time most people held the idea that the child’s brain is just like this little adult brain, but we now know how very different their brain is from ours, and how it is still growing until the mid to late 20s. I appreciate that society is starting to realize how beautiful the child’s brain is. Children are these amazing creatures, and they are different from us in so many ways. They are wiser. To me, what is most important about children can only be learned from children, and people are starting to understand and appreciate how special they are, and I love that."
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⭐ Sarah Diroy, LCSW, Director of Mental Health
"It has been an honor to work as a leader in building our mental health department with the support, knowledge, and experience of my team members. To witness the department's growth from just one social worker to a team of four, while hosting and training social work interns during the school year, is exciting and incredibly inspirational. Together we have been able to expand mental health services to youth, integrate psychosocial elements into patient care, and offer invaluable services to our vulnerable patient population. Collectively, we hope to continue building relationships with our patients in which they feel validated, accepted, and supported; we also want to continue addressing the interrelationship between mental, emotional, and physical health to promote comprehensive care and improve overall health outcomes."
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⭐ Shirin Y. Bahadurji, D.D.S., Dental Director
“I’ve had the privilege of personally being a part of the exponential growth in the dental department here at WFHC. For those patients with extreme dental issues, we help them navigate the medical system and offer them life-changing treatments that other FQHCs do not. Due to my skill and multispecialty as an esthetic and restorative dentist, I can fix their teeth within the realms of what medicine allows us to do. We take pride in being as conservative as possible, giving our patients treatment options that empower them with the ability to make sound informed decisions taking autonomy over their health. It makes me incredibly proud that every day my team makes a difference."
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Get your Vaccinations!
During the thick of cold and flu season, it's critical to be proactive against COVID-19 and other viruses. Vaccines strengthen your immune system and significantly reduce the risk of severe illness from common respiratory issues.
Prioritize your health! Call (310) 450-2191 to schedule an appointment; WFHC’s vaccine clinic is open the second and fourth Saturday of every month from 8 am – 2 pm.
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WFHC has just launched its new website! On this revitalized, easy-to-navigate platform, patients can access their portal, schedule appointments, find answers to commonly asked questions, view educational content, and much more. We invite you to take a look!
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Holiday Celebrations at Westside Family Health Center
Festive decorations, a month-long hot cocoa bar, holiday-themed sweater competition, raffles, and our annual team member lunch make the season bright for all at WFHC!
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Top L-to-R:: Nathan Stark, Emilio Amezquita, Chris Mendoza - Bottom L-to-R: Emma Nace, Raffle prize distribution
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Congratulations to all the winners at our Holiday Celebration:
- Most Festive Outfit – Emilio Amezquita
- Ugliest Sweater – Chris Mendoza
- Best Handmade Sweater – Emma Nace
- Best Vintage Sweater – Nathan Starks
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⭐Employee of the Year⭐
Congratulations to Jailene Lopez-Reveles, WFHC's employee of the year. This honor is bestowed by fellow team members to the person who has brought outstanding commitment, excellence, and compassion to WFHC. Jailene raises the bar for all of us, and we are so grateful to have her on our team!
In addition to receiving this recognition, the employee of the year is awarded a reserved parking space for an entire year!
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As the countdown to the new year draws near, please don't forget to make your tax-deductible contribution to Westside Family Health Center. Your gift allows us to provide care to those that need it most. Click here to donate today!
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Make an Ongoing Impact
Streamline your giving and make an ongoing impact by becoming a monthly donor. It's easy to sign up online; enter your monthly donation amount and then scroll down to enter your contact and payment information.
Please contact Cindi Berns, Director of Development, if you need assistance or further information at (310) 450-4773 x 254. or cberns@wfhcenter.org
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Wishing you a most joyous and healthy Holiday season,
Your Friends at Westside Family Health Center
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