Operation Access - Meet Our Volunteers

William Bassett, MD (Contra Costa)	Dr. William Bassett is a Urologist with Kaiser Permanente, living and working in Contra Costa County. He began volunteering with Operation Access in 2010, fulfilling a long-term desire of his to participate in an organized effort to provide healthcare for the medically underserved. Dr. Bassett has made it a priority to partner with OA and Kaiser Permanente to deliver quality healthcare to patients who cannot afford the procedures they need.
Gloria Brillantes, RN (San Mateo)	Gloria Brillantes, an operating room nurse at Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco, has volunteered with Operation Access (OA) since 1998. For Gloria, Gloria is an outspoken advocate for the San Mateo county low-income, uninsured population, and believes that it is important for medical professionals to help them by “giving back”. Her positive attitude is contagious, and she actively recruits her colleagues to volunteer with OA to provide care for the most vulnerable population free of charge. The passionate and dedicated team that she leads has provided life changing procedures for 110 people since 1998.
David Claiborne, MD (Marin)	Dr. David Claiborne, an ophthalmologist at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael, who has worked with us since 2009, regularly attends the Eye Clinics, which he helped to launch and actively promotes OA among his colleagues. Every quarter, Dr. Claiborne and a team of nurses, medical assistants, and other ophthalmologists stay after hours to evaluate low-income, uninsured patients in need of surgery. Even Dr. Claiborne’s son Alex, a high school student, volunteers at the Eye Clinics as a Spanish interpreter
Brad Drexler, MD (Sonoma)	Dr. Brad Drexler, an Obstetrician/Gynecologist who has practiced in Healdsburg since 1991, is a “go to” volunteer who cares for both Operation Access patients, and patients at Vista Family Health Center, a community clinic in Santa Rosa. A fluent Spanish speaker from his days living in Mexico, Dr. Drexler is able to communicate with all of his patients, many of whom are Latino and who often work in the vineyards of Sonoma County. Giving back to the community has always been a central part of Dr. Drexler’s work.
Barbara Gregory, RN, (Contra Costa)	Barbara Gregory, RN, was an Operation Access volunteer since Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek joined the network in 2007. In that time, she did not miss a surgery session and poured her soul into her volunteerism. Barbara was always “there” for Operation Access patients, assuring that everyone feels comfortable prior to their surgeries. Barbara recently retired from nursing. OA thanks you Barbara for all you’ve done.
Erich Horn, MD (Alameda)	Erich Horn, MD, an ophthalmologist at Eye MD Laser and Surgery Center and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, has been a dedicated volunteer for Operation Access since 2005. Dr. Horn, who provides cataract and pterygium surgeries, has never refused to a referral request. One patient said of him, “Through Dr. Horn’s participation, I am able to see well again and enjoy day to day life. Dr. Horn treated me in an excellent manner in all of the pre-surgery appointments, during the surgery and afterwards.”
Sumit Kohli, MD (Sonoma)	Sumit Kohli, MD, a Gastroenterologist, performs diagnostic colonoscopies and upper endoscopies for OA patients at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Dr. Kohli volunteers with OA regularly, along with his Digestive Health Consultants of Northern California partners, Drs. Faust, Hornberger, Lustberg, Auld, and Ghassemi. In addition to his work with OA, Dr. Kohli also volunteers at Southwest Community Health Center.
Crystine Lee, MD (Marin)	Crystine Lee, MD, a General and Bariatric Surgeon, has performed dozens of cholecystecomies and hernia surgeries for OA patients at Novato Community Hospital and Marin General Hospital. Dr. Lee has been volunteering regularly since 2009, and believes that excellence must be delivered with compassion and a personal touch. She even made a house call once when an OA patient was having some post-operative pain.
Bill Lewis, MD (Alameda)	Dr. Bill Lewis, a head and neck surgeon at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, has been an OA volunteer since 2010. His interests are Humanitarian medicine and relief work. In 2000, he was awarded the American Academy of Otolaryngology -Head and Neck surgery's Humanitarian Fellowship Award. With their support, as well as that of the Ear Research Foundation and the PRASAD Project, he traveled and spent a year in an impoverished region of India where he helped develop clinical services in Ear, Nose, and Throat for a population of over 200,000 people.
John Long, MD (San Francisco)	Dr. John Long, a vascular surgeon who practices in San Francisco, is one of OA’s most senior and most active volunteers. Close to 100 patients have had the good fortune of receiving Dr. Long's compassionate care since 1996 when he was searching for a local volunteer opportunity and colleagues directed him to, the then relatively new, Operation Access. Dr. Long performs varicose vein repairs and finds satisfaction in enabling his OA patients, many of whom are in the service industry, to remain standing longer with less pain, as well as improving their appearance. In addition to looking and feeling better, Dr. Long knows that his patients value and appreciate the care they receive.
Robert Mickel, MD (San Francisco)	Robert Mickel, MD an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist in San Francisco, has been an OA volunteer since 1996. He has not only shown great compassion toward his patients, but has also promoted the program within his own practice: all of the physicians in the San Francisco ENT Medical Group volunteer with OA. The volume of ENT referral requests is consistently high, and Dr. Mickel’s commitment to the program has been critical to our ability to serve these patients.
Andrew Moyce, MD (Alameda)	Dr. Andy Moyce, an ENT specialist who recently retired, volunteered with Operation Access for 6 years and cared for over 60 OA patients. In addition to working with OA, Dr. Moyce has volunteered with La Clinica in East Oakland, and has participated in Christian medical missions to Mexico and Central and South America. Dr. Moyce’s career has been centered on service and giving back. Although he no longer has surgical privileges, he plans to continue volunteering at local clinics, and expects to refer needy patients to Operation Access when surgery is required.
John Ngai, MD (San Mateo)	Dr. Ngai, a general surgeon at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City, has inspired other surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and technicians to volunteer with him for quarterly “Saturday Sessions” since 2002. Dr. Ngai believes that physicians can make a difference right here at home where there is so much need and regularly donates his skills to the underserved in his community In 2011, Dr. Ngai received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Volunteer Center of San Francisco/San Mateo for his OA activities, and is also a winner of the national Jefferson Award for Volunteerism sponsored by TV station KPIX.
Timothy Sowerby, MD (Marin)	Dr. Timothy Sowerby is a Gastroenterologist at Marin Gastroenterology, who practices at Marin General Hospital and the Endoscopy Center of Marin. Since 2000, he has provided hundreds of GI procedures free of charge for Marin patients through Operation Access, and actively recruits new volunteers. He is an articulate and outspoken advocate for the county’s low-income, uninsured population. and has shown dedication and commitment to Operation Access for over a decade.
Albert Wetter, MD (San Mateo)	Albert Wetter, MD, a General Surgeon affiliated with Peninsula Medical Center, has been treating OA patients since 2008. Dr. Wetter not only takes the time to serve low-income patients in his community, he also enthusiastically promotes the program to his colleagues and to the public. Dr. Wetter joined Lucia Martel-Dow for an interview on Univision’s morning show, “Al Despertar” in June.