Coming Soon… our first non-profit project to help improve the food our children eat.

Almost every culture has the need for some form of charity or charitable act. Some of the most impact-full charity organizations are right here, in our United States of America. But what can we do on the small scale to make a difference? This has been a question that I have asked for a very long time.

Massai Baby in Tanzania, Africa

In the past 3 years, we’ve had the privilege of participating in some pretty wonderful projects with some really amazing people.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with local charities that make a difference in our own communities to educate, feed and clothe children who are not as fortunate as we are.

Recently, I met a patient who is from Honduras.  She lives locally and knows everyone in the community.  After our consultation and treatment, she referred her daughter to our offices.  They, like most of my patients, are very special people.  Maria works very hard to organize donations from around the community and sends a container of clothing, shoes, toys, and medical supplies to poor families in Honduras.  All the expenses of this project are paid by her.

Maria inspired me.  As Podiatrists, we care about feet, so I decided to start a shoe drive… but not just a regular shoe drive.  An organized ongoing event that recruits other doctors to also collect shoes in their offices for kids that often are barefoot, or make shoes from used plastic bottles.  Having traveled to numerous third world countries, I’ve seen first hand the conditions that some of these kids grow up in, and just like the late night infomercial asking for your donations… the images are grim.

Little Honduran Boy

I decided to make a locally effective shoe drive that utilizes the strong relationship between doctor and patient, and doesn’t require you to hope that your contribution actually gets to the source. A global, but “local-feeling” charity that bypasses all the bureaucracy and unnecessary costs of larger organizations.  This way we can act locally and impact globally.  Plus, what better forum than Podiatry to host a Global Shoe Drive?

So I would like to extend an invitation to you to donate old shoes that your children have outgrown, and we will send them to villages across the world where people don’t have access to all the good things we have here in America. I appreciate every contribution you have made and will make in the future.

Thank you for being part of a better future for our planet.

September 2009 — Special Thanks

I wanted to take a moment to thank some very special patients who have helped us reach our first shipment to Honduras.  We were able to send out first batch of shoes to Honduras for children in orphanages.  Thank you for your compassion and your dedication to helping others in need.

• Dr. Rehta Raja
• Lisa Tracey
• Katy Rodriguez
• Lupe Barboza
• The Water of Life Thanks Group
• Esther Scott
• and our staff member, Nelida

November 2009 — Special Thanks

I have always held the belief that people are intrinsically good, but I have been humbled by how many patients, community leaders and simply incredible human beings there are in our sphere.  Thank you for caring and taking the time to donate shoes, arrange community events and participate in something that directly impacts so many impoverished children.  Your generosity will never be forgotten.  At this point, we have donated over 1000 pairs of shoes.  Our hope is to get more doctors involved and have multi-center donation drop off locations… that dream is closer than we could imagine.

• Prof. Brenda Rothaupt – Thank you for time on your radio show to raise awareness about charitable practices
• Janine Johnson – Thank you for your consistent contributions and events to bring our donations beyond what we could imagine!

If it wasn’t for my teachers, I wouldn’t be doing what I do today.  We take for granted how much we owe to our teachers.  We all remember that one teacher who influenced us or effected our lives for the positive.

So now that I have the opportunity to something for the people that helped me achieve my goals and accomplish what I wanted in my career, I want to give something back to the amazing people who we call teachers.

If you are an teacher or hold any position in education, Beverly Hills Aesthetic Foot Surgery will honor a $500 credit towards any procedure.  This credit is towards fee (consultation, surgery, imaging etc.).  All you have to do is make sure you list your occupation on your new patient registration forms and we will take care of the rest.

So thank you Ms. Castro, Dr. Haskins, Mr. & Mrs. Sego, Prof. Daruty, Dr. Turman, Dr. Glansmann, and every other educator in my life.

During the last 9 years, we have become the leader in Aesthetic Foot Surgery. My drive to innovate and improve the world around us is not limited to medicine however.  When we opened the doors of our Studio City office, we revealed a new idea in the practice of medicine. I was proud to provide my patients access to the the worlds first environmentally sensitive practice.  Built from the ground up with a proactive, environmentally conscious design in mind, we set out to create something entirely new in the medical community: a Green, Sustainable Practice and Surgical Facility that didn’t compromise on quality of care, or luxury… and now in our 3rd year at this location, it gives me much pleasure to announce that we did it!

The Sun has infinte power!

Although, initially, this task was difficult, this new concept is now a reality.  The Studio City location offers cutting edge technology to make your surgical experience luxurious, and environmentally friendly.  The office is completely paperless; any paper that is received by mail is scanned and recycled.  The entire computer system in the office is powered by Solar Technology to reduce the carbon footprint of the office, significantly.  And finally, the suite itself is built with sustainable components like non-toxic water based paints, bamboo floors and all fluorescent recessed lighting that provides natural, comfortable light, with minimal power usage.  The cabinetry is made from 100% recycled laminated particle fiber.

Waste is a big issue in facilities that contain a surgical suite. That is why we had to innovate new techniques that minimize the waste produced and reduce the non essential waste like sterilization pouches by investing in expensive, yet reusable surgical trays.  All these initiatives take the environment into consideration without compromising the quality of care our patients receive.  To ensure the delivery of excellent care, we elected to put our practice under the scrutiny of the Joint Commission and become and Accredited Facility while still maintaining our own code of conduct with our environmental impact.

We even paid attention to the waiting room furniture.  Staying within your local economy is not only good for our country, but good for the environment. So we I worked with local furniture makers in our very own valley to hand make our waiting room seats.  We used recycled vinyl instead of leather so we wouldn’t contribute to the unfortunate cruel treatment of animals, and the massive environmental impact of

Staying Local is the best way to reduce your environmental footprint.

the meat and leather industry.  The same logic went in to our lighting choice for the lobby.  Luxury doesn’t mean sacrificing your beliefs.  We worked with a local lighting company to built a custom made chandelier with local cut glass crystals.  This light was literally “made in Los Angeles”.

Clients that have visited the facility have nothing but accolades for this remarkable project.

But I didn’t want this to be the end of the story, I wanted others to be able to replicate this concept.  So I developed a program called the EPP (Environmentally Proactive Practice™ where doctors from all over the United States could follow an algorithm to update and modernize their offices. Now that the office has been operational and all systems were tested, I embarked on a bigger project, the Environmentally Proactive Practice™ program is the world’s first initiative to create an algorithm for other practices to improve their environmental footprint and help preserve our world for generations to come.

With the launch of EPP, doctors all over the US can have access to a free, resource that will help them refine their practices to reduce their carbon footprint, and fulfill their obligation to our home, the Earth.

For more information on the EPP initiative and obtaining the algorithm for making your practice green, please contact the office and ask to speak with me personally regarding the environmental initiative for medical practices, and I will be happy to share our experiences and consult with you to raise the eco-consciousness of your practice.  If we want to keep this great country of ours the leader in technology we have to work together and raise the bar of what is considered an ethical practice in the 21st century.