Finding love at Jewish Home Community Clinical Services in Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Rafael Gonzalez-Amezcua, Medical Director at Jewish Home Community Clinical Services in Los Angeles, CA joins eHealth Radio and the Health Care Channel. Dr. Amezcua has more than 15 years experience as a physician, educator and leader in caring for seniors.

Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels & guest Dr. Rafael Gonzalez-Amezcua discuss the following:

• First tell us a little about Los Angeles Jewish Home and your role there.
• Today is Sweetheart’s Day at the Jewish Home. I suspect there are some residents who found each other there. Despite the fact many think those over 70 or 80 are too old to fall in love and marry, you have probably seen enough happy seniors who met to dispute that.
• Do seniors tend to shy away from new romances because of a spouse’s death or divorce?
• Is it true that single people tend to die earlier than those who are married or have a significant other?
• Is sex over 70 or 80 safe?
• Tell us some advice for children who have a single parent who may be 80 or 90 years old and has found love at a retirement home or residence such as yours.
• Do you think older people are better at finding love than the young?

Duration: 10:43

Dr. Rafael Gonzalez-Amezcua is a Board Certified Internist who is currently the Medical Director for Community Clinical Services for the Los Angles Jewish Home. Among other duties Dr. Amezcua oversees the medical services at the Brandman Centers for Senior Care, a new Program of All-Inclusive  Care for the Elderly(PACE) at the Jewish Home, Skirball Hospice, Palliative Care, Care Transitions, Home Health Agency and assists in the management of the Medical Group and its geriatric  community clinic. Additionally, Dr. Amezcua has a panel of patients for which he is the primary care provider.

Dr. Amezcua attended the University of California at Davis for his undergraduate education and the Rosalind Franklin School of Medicine  in Chicago, Ill. for his medical degree. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco CA. Post graduate training includes a fellowship on Health Policy and Leadership at the NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and a Policy Fellowship at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Cal State Fresno.

Dr Amezcua has spent his professional career focusing on care for the poor frail elderly. He first worked at On Lok Senior Health in San Francisco, CA where he helped open and supervised the first PACE clinic in a predominantly Latino community.  While there he joined the Clinical Faculty at UCSF and developed an out patient geriatric rotation for the Internal Medicine program at the San Francisco General Hospital. In 2007 Dr. Amezcua relocated to Fresno CA where he opened and directed a geriatric focused clinic in a poor area through Sequoia Community Clinics, a local FQHC. He soon after was recruited to UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program and became the Medical Director for the General Internal Medicine Clinics. Due to family health issues Dr Amezcua accepted an offer to relocate to the Los Angeles area as Regional Director for Senior Services for AltaMed Health Services Corporation. He later accepted an offer as Interim CEO and CMO for Bienvenidos Community Health Center, a small non for profit clinic in East Los Angeles, where he guided the clinic toward  attaining FQHC status and worked there until joining the Los Angeles Jewish Home.

Dr. Amezcua has been extensively involved in community educational and volunteer activities. While in San Francisco he was a founding member of the Alzheimer’s Association Medical-Scientific Advisory Committee and served as the Chair of the Multi-Cultural committee as well as serving on the Board of Directors. He was a member of the San Francisco Network of Adult Day Centers quality of care initiative and spoke extensively to multiple community and professional groups. Dr. Amezcua was also a Medical Commentator for Univision’s Channel 14 ,KTVU where he had a weekly live TV medical segment for several years.

Dr. Amezcua also has served at the national level, as an advisor to the Director of the NIH as co chair of the Council of Public Representatives, as National Policy Committee of the National Hispanic Medical Association and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, State Solutions grant reviewer.

Dr. Amezcua is married to a pediatrician and have three children. He currently resides in South Pasadena CA.

Web Site: www.jha.org
Facebook: facebook.com/LosAngelesJewishHome
Twitter: @LAJewishHome