Our San Diego ILADs expert Lyme doctor Therese Yang who was trained by Dr. Burrascano and has trained several other lyme docs is at risk for losing her practice. She has been placed under very similar restrictions as Dr. Jones. Attached is her letter asking for help.
If you could please pray, share this letter by emailing, and if possible donate, to show your support of this heroic doctor, and allow chronically ill patients continued access to the expert care that they so desperately need.
Donations are also tax deductible because her clinic is non profit.
To all my dear friends, new friends, patients and supporters, Thank you for taking the time to read this letter on behalf of myself and approximately 400 patients whose continued well-being is in your hands. Your immediate assistance is needed, by April 16th, to avoid an interruption in patient care. Meetings are being arranged with various organizations, but all financial support is needed to achieve our goal.
Dr. Yang’s Family Care (DYFC) is a 501(C(3) non-profit health center dedicated to serving the under-served since 1997. Although all my time is strictly volunteer and most of our staff earn less than half what they would in another setting, we have always struggled financially.
Our mission is to serve underserved and underinsured patients, including those with chronic health problems like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. These patients have typically seen dozens of doctors who dismissed their complaints. By the time they come to us, they feel alone, ignored and abandoned. Our approach is to search for underlying causes and effective solutions. As word got out, patients began flooding into our office.
In 1988, at a community clinic in the mountains east of San Diego, I cared for my first patient with chronic Lyme disease. With the help of Dr. Burrascano, I witnessed her improvement. When DYFC opened in 1997, patients with Lyme disease told me that no doctor would see them. Much like those with AIDS in the 1980’s, as soon as “Lyme” was uttered, “doors slammed in their faces”.
After unsuccessful attempts to find referrals for so many patients, I learned to care for them myself. I have been attending the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) annual meetings since the first convention in 2000, and have exhaustively researched multiple other resources regarding Lyme disease. At present, about 80% of our patients have chronic Lyme disease and associated conditions.
In order to find the underlying cause of each patient’s multiple symptoms, we review prior work-ups and treatments. Initial visits usually take about 2 hours and follow-up visits average 45 minutes. I believe it’s impossible to properly care for our patients in the traditional six-minute visit.
As I began treating Lyme disease, I became aware of the political rift between IDSA (the Infectious Disease Society of America) and ILADS. IDSA states that Lyme disease is easy to diagnose, simple to treat, and is not chronic. In my experience, this is not the case.
Unfortunately, while both IDSA and ILADS are private professional organizations, governmental agencies favor IDSA over ILADS. Many doctors suffered medical board investigations and insurance denials if they treat outside the IDSA guidelines. Even knowing this, I offered all my heart, soul and resources to providing the best care possible to each patient.
Recently, I had to settle a lawsuit regarding a patient who had Lyme and Babesia. Subsequently, the California Medical Board referenced the IDSA position rather than ILADS guidelines. They accused me of over-diagnosing and over-treating these infections, despite the fact that thousands of patients have improved under our care.
To comply with the restrictions and requirements imposed by the settlement, which becomes effective April 16th at 5pm, I must successfully complete four UCSD courses costing $21,500. In addition, the clinic needs an estimated $50,000 per year for 5 years to pay for mandated practice monitoring and other stipulations.
My patients and I are asking for your financial assistance. Please visit the “Friends of Dr. Yang” GoFundMe page at http://www.gofundme.com/kqxvqw to donate, or contact our office at 619-596-4963 to make a donation directly.
DYFC is a non-profit organization, and donations can be considered for tax purposes. With your help, our patients can continue to receive the care they so desperately need
LisaK
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 41384
posted
I feel so hopeless for this dr and those like her.
what a sad world we have.
I will do what I can to help them all, but I'm afraid it isn't much.
I wish I could do more.
-------------------- Be thankful in all things- even difficult times and sickness and trials - because there is something GOOD to be seen Posts: 3558 | From Eastern USA | Registered: Jul 2013
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
I just sent out the gofundme page (again) to a couple hundred or more people. Hope it helps!
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
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