CF Doctor Near Monterey/Salinas/Gilroy, CA

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origen

New member
Hi all. We are planning to move to somewhere in the San Francisco, San Jose, or outlying areas. We were looking to maybe leave near Salinas/Monterey, and possibly Gilroy. Does anyone leave in these areas, and if so, who do you go to for CF treatment?
I know Stanford and UCSF are great centers, but the drive would be somewhat far. And to top it off, my sister passed away at Stanford last May, so going there might bring back a lot of bad memories.
I mean, what do people do for clinic when they live out in the stix? Do you just make the long drive every 3 months or so? What if you wind up in the hospital?
Thank you for any and all replies!!
 
O

origen

New member
Hi all. We are planning to move to somewhere in the San Francisco, San Jose, or outlying areas. We were looking to maybe leave near Salinas/Monterey, and possibly Gilroy. Does anyone leave in these areas, and if so, who do you go to for CF treatment?
I know Stanford and UCSF are great centers, but the drive would be somewhat far. And to top it off, my sister passed away at Stanford last May, so going there might bring back a lot of bad memories.
I mean, what do people do for clinic when they live out in the stix? Do you just make the long drive every 3 months or so? What if you wind up in the hospital?
Thank you for any and all replies!!
 
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kitomd21

New member
Hi there - I wish I could be of some help! I'm sorry about your sister - understandably, Stanford would be a tough place to visit.

We go to Sutter in Sacramento - which may be a bit of drive for you. I do have family in the areas you mentioned - a good 2.5 - 3 hr drive away from us. We live about 30 mins from DD's center. I do know that a lot of families have to drive a much greater distance...unfortunately, this isn't uncommon.
 
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kitomd21

New member
Hi there - I wish I could be of some help! I'm sorry about your sister - understandably, Stanford would be a tough place to visit.

We go to Sutter in Sacramento - which may be a bit of drive for you. I do have family in the areas you mentioned - a good 2.5 - 3 hr drive away from us. We live about 30 mins from DD's center. I do know that a lot of families have to drive a much greater distance...unfortunately, this isn't uncommon.
 
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Keepercjr

Guest
I don't think you are going to find a clinic outside of the bay area or the LA area (other than sacramento). I live in fresno and have to make the 3 hour drive to UCSF. There just is no way around it. sorry <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">
 
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Keepercjr

Guest
I don't think you are going to find a clinic outside of the bay area or the LA area (other than sacramento). I live in fresno and have to make the 3 hour drive to UCSF. There just is no way around it. sorry <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">
 
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TheColorGreen

New member
Hi, I've lived in Monterey most of my life. Sadly the only only reasonable option I have found for decent treatment is Stanford. I have also heard that UCSF is good but I've never been so I can't really comment on that. Also it is another 20 - 30 minute drive further than Stanford. It can be a pain to make the hour and a half drive every few months and even more of a pain when all they want you to do is blow some PFT's! Also being in the hospital is sometimes hard because my girlfriend and dog (my best bud!) are quite a drive away. But overall it has been very manageable and Stanford has gotten much better at accommodating and are generally pretty understanding of my "long distance" situation.

But I will say that I've had to visit the ER at Community Hospital in Monterey a few times over the past couple of years for some relatively minor CF related issues (severe pain a few times, and difficulty breathing once or twice) and while they are obviously not a CF center I have always felt that they are able to at least manage me in these situations. I feel like it is a good ER with good doctors and they have been able to comunicate well with Stanford in these situations. So that is always sort of comforting knowing I can go there in case of an emergency.

I am very sorry to hear about your sister. I too have a sibling with CF and can only imagine how difficult that must be. Obviously you have some other circumstances that you need to take into account when choosing a center but for me Stanford has been a good choice even living as far as the Monterey Peninsula.
 
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TheColorGreen

New member
Hi, I've lived in Monterey most of my life. Sadly the only only reasonable option I have found for decent treatment is Stanford. I have also heard that UCSF is good but I've never been so I can't really comment on that. Also it is another 20 - 30 minute drive further than Stanford. It can be a pain to make the hour and a half drive every few months and even more of a pain when all they want you to do is blow some PFT's! Also being in the hospital is sometimes hard because my girlfriend and dog (my best bud!) are quite a drive away. But overall it has been very manageable and Stanford has gotten much better at accommodating and are generally pretty understanding of my "long distance" situation.

But I will say that I've had to visit the ER at Community Hospital in Monterey a few times over the past couple of years for some relatively minor CF related issues (severe pain a few times, and difficulty breathing once or twice) and while they are obviously not a CF center I have always felt that they are able to at least manage me in these situations. I feel like it is a good ER with good doctors and they have been able to comunicate well with Stanford in these situations. So that is always sort of comforting knowing I can go there in case of an emergency.

I am very sorry to hear about your sister. I too have a sibling with CF and can only imagine how difficult that must be. Obviously you have some other circumstances that you need to take into account when choosing a center but for me Stanford has been a good choice even living as far as the Monterey Peninsula.
 
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origen

New member
You guys are awesome. Thank you for the great responses! I think I may just try UCSF. I spoke to them yesterday, and they seemed like they thought it wouldn't be a problem.

One followup question - if you ever have to do at home IVs, is some sort of infusion company and an at home nurse able to accomodate you in the Monterey/Salinas area?
 
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origen

New member
You guys are awesome. Thank you for the great responses! I think I may just try UCSF. I spoke to them yesterday, and they seemed like they thought it wouldn't be a problem.

One followup question - if you ever have to do at home IVs, is some sort of infusion company and an at home nurse able to accomodate you in the Monterey/Salinas area?
 
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TheColorGreen

New member
Yes, I always do home IV's when I get admitted to the hospital. Access IV handles my meds and there are a few different home nursing agencies depending on what insurance you have. Here's the website, they have a bunch of info on therehttp://accessiv.com/index.html
 
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TheColorGreen

New member
Yes, I always do home IV's when I get admitted to the hospital. Access IV handles my meds and there are a few different home nursing agencies depending on what insurance you have. Here's the website, they have a bunch of info on therehttp://accessiv.com/index.html
 
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1woodswoman

Guest
I'm on the far opposite north side of S.F., in Eureka, CA. It's a 6 hr. Drive to the Bay area. I tried the UCSF Clinic first, but they wouldn't accept any of my labwork done here, & they were horrible about communicating w/my local doctors. Another person w/CF in this area recommended Cal Pacific Hosp (Sutter Medical Foundation), because they're much more community oriented, will use labs from home, & communicate much better w/my team of doctors here. There's a local org for IV's & infusions, & one of the local ER's is OK.

If you want specific contact info & Dr names at Cal Pacific in S.F., just send me a private message, & I'll give you all the details. BTW, I love living rural, but it's a pain getting good healthcare for unusual conditions - we may eventually move closer (2-3hrs). Don't know yet.
 
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1woodswoman

Guest
I'm on the far opposite north side of S.F., in Eureka, CA. It's a 6 hr. Drive to the Bay area. I tried the UCSF Clinic first, but they wouldn't accept any of my labwork done here, & they were horrible about communicating w/my local doctors. Another person w/CF in this area recommended Cal Pacific Hosp (Sutter Medical Foundation), because they're much more community oriented, will use labs from home, & communicate much better w/my team of doctors here. There's a local org for IV's & infusions, & one of the local ER's is OK.

If you want specific contact info & Dr names at Cal Pacific in S.F., just send me a private message, & I'll give you all the details. BTW, I love living rural, but it's a pain getting good healthcare for unusual conditions - we may eventually move closer (2-3hrs). Don't know yet.
 
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Keepercjr

Guest
1woodswoman

I'm surprised about your experience with UCSF. I have had no problem getting my lab work done here. I don't find the doctor to be the most charming (especially when you disagree with her or say you aren't 100% compliant) but I can't say I have had a bad experience. The nurse practitioners are just wonderful. I haven't needed them to communicate with other doctors so I have no comment on that one.
 
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Keepercjr

Guest
1woodswoman

I'm surprised about your experience with UCSF. I have had no problem getting my lab work done here. I don't find the doctor to be the most charming (especially when you disagree with her or say you aren't 100% compliant) but I can't say I have had a bad experience. The nurse practitioners are just wonderful. I haven't needed them to communicate with other doctors so I have no comment on that one.
 
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