Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation Gold Ribbon Honoree, Susie Perry, helped host a special birthday for the Ortiz Family as their daughter, Ximena, battled cancer.

Just imagine having a child with cancer during this COVID-19 crisis–a pandemic that is leading to job loss and insecurity, financial hardship, mounting health concerns, and an overworked and exhausted health care community.

COVID-19 is creating even greater challenges for local families battling childhood cancer. Many of these families have lost their jobs and are no longer able to buy food and clothing for their families, or pay rent or medical expenses, including critical prescriptions.

During this challenging time, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) has been providing even more services for families, including money for rent assistance, grocery gift cards, additional emotional support groups with licensed therapists, virtual and in-person tutoring, meal and care package delivery, and virtual family fun events to keep their kids engaged. Community support has made it possible for TBCF to provide additional financial assistance to 31 local families who have been severely affected by the pandemic.

When Ximena was five, her family noticed she was having difficulties using the bathroom properly. After seeing the doctor a few times and not receiving a diagnosis, the Ortiz family noticed she had a bump on the right side of her stomach. They took Ximena to Ventura County Medical Center to receive a cat-scan, where it was discovered that she had Wilm’s tumor – a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children. The doctors told the Ortiz family Ximena would need surgery, as the tumor on her kidney was putting pressure on her veins.

Ximena went into surgery just a few short days later and began to receive small doses of preventative chemotherapy once weekly for six months. This became complicated for the Ortiz family, as the treatment location was two hours away. During this difficult time, TBCF helped support the Ortiz family as Ximena’s mom, Araceli, had resigned from her job to take care of Ximena.

To date, TBCF has helped the Ortiz family through their Direct Financial Assistance fund, which provided Araceli with food, gas and car repairs as she took Ximena to receive treatment. TBCF has also provided support to the Ortiz family with in-person and virtual Family Connection Events, where they bonded with other families going through similar situations.

Ximena’s treatment ended in December 2019, but TBCF has continued to provide support during the pandemic. Additional ways the organization has helped the family are by providing Ximena and her two siblings toys through their Project Christmas program, and by offering continued virtual support and phone check-ins. One of this year’s Gold Ribbon Campaign 2020 Honorees, Susie Perry, helped the Ortiz family by hosting a special birthday party for Ximena when she was sick.

TBCF will be hosting their annual Gold Ribbon Campaign throughout the month of September to raise funds during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the annual in-person Gold Ribbon Luncheon at the Four Seasons Biltmore has been cancelled, which is a major source of funding for the nonprofit. This year, the Campaign is solely focused on raising funds and awareness for the organization and the families they serve.

Through donations and continued support, TBCF can help more families like the Ortiz family.

To participate in TBCF’s Gold Ribbon Campaign for National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, please visit TBCF at: https://bit.ly/32t4YeM

Dr. Leslie-Lynn Pawson at the Ventura March for Science.

by Amy Brown

Most people are familiar with the Hippocratic Oath for physicians, which—paraphrased—binds them to treat the sick, preserve confidentiality, and pass on medical knowledge to the doctors coming after them. Physicians for Progress, a group of about 50 doctors in Ventura County, are committed to both the Hippocratic and the democratic. The organization was founded in 2017, focused on solving issues with the current healthcare system, preserving democracy, as well as protecting the environment, which directly affects everyone’s health. They share concerns about the current administration’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act, and are working to influence lawmakers to consider a single payer system, to ensure that all Americans have access to insurance and healthcare. Their endeavors so far have included advocating directly and vigorously with members of congress and state legislators, during town halls and in their offices, holding a Healthcare Forum earlier this year for Ventura residents, and raising awareness through strategic social media outreach.

Dr. Leslie-Lynn Pawson is one of the founding members of Physicians for Progress, a family physician since 1982 who now teaches Family Medicine and Palliative Medicine at VCMC. During her long tenure in the field, she’s had many years to see what works and what doesn’t in the current healthcare system. “Every other wealthy democratic nation on this planet has a variation of single payer healthcare system that provides health insurance to 99 if not 100% of their people. We are absolutely alone as a wealthy democratic country that does not provide health insurance to everybody,” said Pawson. When asked how she and other members of the organization counter some of the typical arguments (concerns about higher costs, for example) against government-engaged healthcare, she shared “Our current system is so much more expensive! We spend 17-18% of our GDP (Gross Domestic Product), while other nations spend 10%, and they get better care for less money. Yes, our taxes will go up, but what each of our individual families will pay in healthcare will actually be less. Access will go up, availability will go up and our health outcomes will go up.”

Many doctors in the organization have seen firsthand what tragedies can happen with the capriciousness of the current health insurance system. Dr. Zadok Sacks is a double board certified internist and pediatrician and has been at VCMC since 2014. He’s seen patients lose their insurance through divorce or loss of employment, and then develop cancers that went untreated, unchecked, and ultimately metastasized. “When you see even one case like that, it’s such a shocking indictment of the way that we fail so many,” said Sacks. “Single payer would keep the same providers in place, with the same range of service, and give folks the safety net of a universally available public insurance system that will pay for all the care they need. Ultimately it is going to drive the cost of healthcare down.”

Some opponents suggest that single payer health care will eliminate competition. “I consider myself very much a capitalist,” said Dr. Clint McBride, who now teaches at the Fort Collins Family Medicine residency program, after his residency at VCMC. “People should be able to work hard and achieve differential levels of economic success. I actually think the correct place for competition in our medical system should be among hospitals and providers—if all patients had the same insurance, then they’d have the freedom to choose the doctors.” According to McBride, often the choice of which medicine a patient is prescribed is based on the type of insurance they have—not what type of medicine would actually benefit them. “I’ve had many, many patients, both in California and Colorado, go without the dose of insulin they need because they can’t afford it. I will often see patients that ration their medicine or take less than they should. They then often progress to needing dialysis or amputations and ultimately they incur even higher healthcare costs.”

McBride has words of encouragement for those who may feel powerless to effect change in something as monolithic and embedded as the current healthcare system. “You have incredible power,” said McBride. “Organize, vote—remember that generations that came before us overcame huge challenges in this country: we abolished slavery, we guaranteed women the right to vote, and we fought world wars against fascists. When you take a historical context and the magnitude of those challenges, certainly guaranteeing the right to healthcare and eradicating medical bankruptcies is a big challenge, but we’ve achieved bigger things before.”

MERITO Foundation’s students learn about wetland habitat restoration at the Kalorama Wetland.

We now know the risk of contracting coronavirus diminishes when masked gatherings occur outside (The New York Times). We also know children learn more science, care more for their environment, and are happier when learning outdoors. We are launching the Marine Science After School Beach Camps to increase the opportunities for local youth to participate in meaningful learning outdoor experiences that won’t be available to them through distance learning.

The MERITO Foundation has instructed over 18,000 students during the last five years in our region’s coastal environments, such as local watersheds, beaches, and estuaries. Our bilingual and knowledgeable staff will provide your child with a fun and memorable experience while they explore our coast.

The Marine Science After School Beach Camp is a weeklong program for 9 to 12 years olds. Your child will be engaged in hands-on science and stewardship activities while allowing for social distance. They will learn about habitat restoration, wetland ecology, ocean science, animal classification, and have fun with ocean-themed games and art. Children will explore the coast through field-based activities such as habitat restoration, scientific monitoring of sand crabs, shorebirds, beach topography, and stewardship activities such as beach cleanups. The program will run Monday through Friday from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm, starting on August 31, 2020. Please check meritofoundation.org/afterschoolbeachcamp for available dates and to enroll online.

This is a fully outdoor program that will take place at Buenaventura State Beach by the Kalorama Wetland, south of the Ventura pier. Registration costs $190 per week per child, and parents get 10% discount when they enroll siblings. A limited number of scholarships are available based on economic needs. Each instructor will work with a maximum of 8 students, and children will stay in the same groups throughout the week to reduce the chance of virus transmission.

All our Beach Camps have strict COVID-19 prevention rules and protocols in place to keep youth and instructors safe. You can find out more about our COVID-19 prevention measures on the program’s webpage.

The MERITO Foundation is also launching a full-day Marine Science Fall Beach Camp that will take place during the week of October 26 – 30, 2020. Registrations are now open for both programs.

This program could result in a myriad of academic, social, and health benefits for participants, especially during distance learning. Environmental education programs in informal settings increase knowledge and understanding of how human actions contribute to environmental issues. Youth also demonstrate better attention and longer retention of skills when learning takes place in outdoor environments. Exposure to nature through these programs enhances learners’ cognitive functioning, self-discipline, and character development. In addition, there are numerous physical and mental health benefits from spending time in the outdoors. Learn more and enroll your child at www.meritofoundation.org/afterschoolbeachcamp

This program was organized in partnership with California State Parks- Channel Coast District and California Coastal Conservancy.