Kaiser Permanente Park Shadelands Medical Offices has implemented an innovative pilot program that focuses on improving patients' quality of life by encouraging them to take control of their overall health and preventive care by getting life-saving routine screenings.

The Prompt Us, Please! program launched September 11, and runs through November 22, in the Park Shadelands Flu Clinic, 350 Lennon Lane, open 8:45am–4:45, M–F.

“Routine medical screenings are critical to patients' health and well-being because they can catch health problems early, which allows us to treat and cure patients early,” says Mike Maddox, Kaiser Permanente Park Shadelands site director.

“We call our new program Prompt Us, Please! because we want members to think about overall preventive care and prompt us to perform or schedule screenings they may be due for while they’re already here, at Park Shadelands, visiting clinics and physicians for other issues.

"They might be due for a blood pressure screening, or blood work for a diabetes issue, or a mammogram," says Mike. "The time to get those tests is while they're already here."

Prompt Us, Please! signage in the flu clinic encourages patients to reach out to staff about screenings while they're getting their flu shot.

“A QR code on the signage takes patients to their own preventive healthcare page where they can log in and check the status of their screenings while in the clinic," says Caroline Foreman, Kaiser Permanente Park Shadelands site administrative specialist.

“When they get to the reception counter, they can ask staff to coordinate a screening for that day or schedule for another time."

Kaiser Permanente expects to see about 20,000 people through the Prompt Us, Please! program over the next few months, a sizable population for a pilot program.

The Prompt Us, Please! program focuses on six routine screenings:

• Blood pressure

• Mammogram

• FIT Kits for colorectal cancer

• Cervical cancer test

• Diabetic A1C blood test

• Diabetic eye exam

While in the flu clinic, patients can reach out to staff about screenings they're due for.

Kaiser Permanente

Park Shadelands Medical Offices

350 Lennon Lane

Walnut Creek

925.906.2040

Blood pressure screenings are a part of the Prompt Us, Please! program.

Take home FIT Kits, provided by Kaiser Permanente, screen for colon cancer.

“Our hope is that through the Prompt Us, Please! program and its streamlined accessibility to screenings, we establish a mindset in patients to take control of their health, especially cancer prevention care," says Pei Casas, MD, chief of adult and family medicine at Park Shadelands, and physician site lead.

"Catching cancer early allows for the greatest chance of survival and good health—and that's empowerment."

In 2022, Kaiser Permanente Park Shadelands celebrated 30 years in Shadelands.

In May 2023, Shadelands welcomed new neighbors to the community as NorthCreek Church purchased 175 Lennon Lane, Centre Pointe, a 28,000-SF space that had been on the market for a number of years.

Representing NorthCreek Church, founded in 1958 and located across the street at 2303 Ygnacio Valley Road, is Darryll Whaley, an independent real estate broker with Perception Real Estate Group and a member of the church.

“When this opportunity presented itself, our curiosity was piqued,” says Darryll. “There is the benefit of the parking and the opportunity to own property that can be leased out, as well as the opportunity to contribute to the vitality of Shadelands.”

Since taking over ownership, NorthCreek has fully leased the top floor with professional services, including WePlan Tax Group, PSI Testing, Willis Financial Services, Integrus Mortgage, Rooted Software, and Perception Real Estate Group.

Now the focus is on leasing the 15,000 square feet on the ground floor, formerly the home of the Walnut Creek Journal, the Friday weekly of the East Bay Times (which was, in a former life, the Contra Costa Times).

“We’re definitely keeping our options open for new tenants, new industries, new businesses that want to move in, thrive, and be a part of our Walnut Creek and Shadelands communities,” says Darryll.

NorthCreek Church

175 Lennon Lane

Centre Pointe

Walnut Creek

175 Lennon Lane, Centre Pointe, under new ownership by NorthCreek Church.

1st floor 15,000-SF space is the former home of the Walnut Creek Journal/East Bay Times.

“As good stewards of this land and this space—what we’ve been given—we know we need to get this to capacity. We would like to lease to businesses that would love to serve the community in positive ways.”

Check out Food Truck Thursdays, located in the parking lot of Kaiser Permanente Park Shadelands Medical Offices at 370 Lennon Lane (west side of the building).

Open to the public Thursdays, 11:30am–2pm, Food Truck Thursdays is presented by Taste of the World Market, whose motto is Taste International. Support Local.

In September, Food Truck Thursdays served up burgers, tacos, empanadas, and Maine lobster.

In October, look for:

• King Gyro & Kabob, Oct. 5

• Cocina Danzon, Oct. 12

• Los Rockeros, Oct. 19

• Ceviche & Co., Oct. 26

For now, Food Truck Thursdays will run through the fall. Bring your appetite, family & friends!

Food Truck Thursdays

11:30am–2pm

Kaiser Permanente

Park Shadelands Medical Offices

370 Lennon Lane

Walnut Creek

Burgers & more at Bay Area Munchiez, Sept. 14

Among the many life-saving animal welfare programs of the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), one in particular need of volunteers is its foster program.

“Our foster families are angels,’ says Cole Kuiper, ARF marketing manager. “When they take in a foster dog or cat, puppy or kitten, they're freeing up ARF'S physical space and resources for other animals to be rescued, treated for medical and behavioral issues on site, and made ready for adoption to a loving family.

"So, fosters are really saving two lives—the foster animal they’re caring for in their own home, and the rescued animal who comes to ARF with a second chance in life.”

There are many reasons why animals are fostered, says Edgardo Rios, ARF foster coordinator.

Pets and Vets service dog candidates are fostered to assess their behaviors and personalities in a home setting so ARF can pair them with a military veteran who fits their personality best. That assessment is next to impossible to get in a shelter environment.

For shelter guests with treatable illnesses (colds, coughs, and such), fostering allows them to recover in a private home under the watchful eyes of people who can care for them until they are well enough to be adopted.

And long-term guests benefit greatly from a break from shelter life. Large dogs, in particular, benefit from time spent in a home setting, enjoying the love, hugs, and indoor/outdoor activities shared with foster families away from the stresses of shelter life.

Fostering is part of ARF’s protocol for young, underage puppies and kittens to prepare them for adoption, allowing them to spend time with a foster family maturing, gaining weight, and socializing with humans.

“And there are those loving families who want to care for an animal in their home with their children to experience the responsibilities and joys of pet ownership before making a full time commitment," says Edgardo.

ARF provides all supplies fosters will need for the dog or cat, including food, treats, toys, litter and litter boxes, dishes, crates, harnesses, and veterinary services.

To become a foster, sign up for the one-hour online foster orientation and complete an application that asks for fostering preferences, and then be ready for the call from ARF.

Fostering is often the first step in a life-long love of animals.

Kittens and pups need time in foster to mature and gain weight before they're adoption ready.

Animal Rescue Foundation

2890 Mitchell Drive

Walnut Creek

925.256.1273

Long-time ARF fosters Barry & Janelle Clark with Eloise (l) and Nancy Drew (r)

Janelle & Barry Clark have been ARF fosters for 28 years, and are currently fostering two pups, Eloise (#793) and Nancy Drew (#794).

“We foster because we know what these animals have gone through in shelter life—abandoned or dropped off—and we know they’ve had a hard time,” says Barry. “It’s a joy to welcome the rescues into our home and give them a stress-free reprieve and a little R&R before they go up for adoption."

“Falling in love and then giving them back is a hard part,” says Janelle. “But by opening our home, we can take in animals that need help and attention, and allow ARF to save more animals on their weekly rescue runs. Most everything we know about an adoptable animal—behaviors, likes and dislikes, preferences—is as result of being observed by a foster family.

"And, if you do fall in love, that’s okay, because we have the foster fail program, too—and that’s called adoption!”

Bay Medical Management, LLC, (BMML), located in the Walnut Creek Executive Park, was established in 1998 by physician-owned Bay Imaging Consultants Medical Group, Inc, (BIC) to provide professional services to the more than 115 radiologists of BIC, the primary radiology group contracted with hospitals and medical centers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

When you have a scan performed at a regional medical facility—X-ray, MRI, CT, PET-CT, mammogram, or ultrasound—chances are the images will be read and interpreted by BIC radiologists.

BMML provides a variety of services to BIC, imaging centers, and other physicians groups, with a focus on billing, accounting, physician support, and high quality IT service.

“We have a substantial 24/7 IT department, which is critical to radiologists, who read on site in hospitals and medical centers and remote locations around the clock,” says Lisa Woelfel, CEO of BMML

“Our radiologists depend on real-time technology to connect them with referring physicians, to get the information they need to read the studies, and then to get the findings back out and into the right hands.”

The long-time BMML leadership team, headed by Dr. David Howard, president of BIC and BMML, and Dr. Om Rawal, board chair of BIC and BMML, is focused on the future of radiology and technological infrastructure, and on the needs of their radiologists in ever-changing healthcare environments.

The team is also keen to attract and retain the best and brightest radiologists, the medical professionals patients rarely see, but who play an important role in a patient's overall healthcare.

Bay Medical Management, LLC

2125 Oak Grove Road

Walnut Creek Executive Park

Walnut Creek

925.296.7150

Bay Medical Management staff often participate in charity walks and fundraisers in support of community health programs and initiatives.

Dr. David Howard, President, BIC and BMML

The work of radiologists and their expertise dramatically impact the trajectory of a patient’s health and healing journey.

"The BMML team provides the support that allows the radiologists of one of the largest and most highly regarded radiologist groups in the state to focus on patient care," says Dr. Howard.

Contra Costa School of

Performing Arts (SPA) is holding its 5th annual Chillin' In Autumn concert on October 13, 5:30pm, on the front lawn of the school's campus. This spooky fundraiser will feature live performances from SPA's vocal and instrumental students.

Chillin' in Autumn

Outdoor Musical Performances

October 13, 5:30pm

Contra Costa School of

Performing Arts

2730 Mitchell Drive

Walnut Creek

Bring your chairs, blankets, picnics and non-alcoholic beverages to this popular outdoor concert and enjoy music and fresh fall air. Admission is free; proceeds from the Chillin' in Autumn raffle and concessions support the school's vocal and instrumental music departments. 

Join the Walnut Creek Homeless Task Force for its 6th annual Community Forum, Affordable Housing: Busting the Myths, Monday, November 13, 6–8pm.

A panel of experts, including City leadership and affordable and market rate developers, will lead a discussion on the true impacts of affordable housing.

Forum attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of who in our community needs affordable housing and the services in place that support housing efforts.

Free and open to the public, the Forum is a hybrid event.

• In-person: Walnut Creek City Council Chambers, City Hall, 1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek.

• Via Zoom: Community Forum

Registration is requested.

Affordable Housing:

Busting the Myths

Walnut Creek

Community Forum

Monday, November 13

6–8pm

Registration is requested.

Presented by the

Walnut Creek

Homeless Task Force

Hybrid:

Walnut Creek

City Council Chambers

1st Floor, City Hall

1666 North Main Street

Walnut Creek

Zoom Link