Order of Malta expands Oakland clinic outreach with telemedicine

Pam Eiselman, a registered nurse and a dedicated volunteer of the Order of Malta Clinic of Northern California, preparing for a day of visiting with patients via newly instituted telemedicine an outgrowth of the coronavirus pandemic.

May 7, 2020
Catholic San Francisco

Oakland’s Order of Malta Clinic of Northern California announced a telemedicine expansion May 6 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic limiting patients from visiting the facility in person.

Founded in 2008, the clinic is a nonprofit facility located at the Diocese of Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light providing free health care services and treatment to uninsured and low-income patients.

Mindful of patients’ reliance on the clinic, management was quick to make the transition from onsite to on screen care. Kareo, a California-based medical software company, assisted in the change. “With Kareo, physicians can prescribe medications, place orders for lab work, and easily manage each patient’s medical history with electronic health records,” the Order of Malta said in a statement.

Dr. Thomas Wallace, a Knight of Malta, is one of the more than 50 volunteer physicians and nurses who staff the clinic.

“For many of our patients, our clinic is the only source of medical care they have access to,” Wallace said. “Before the transition to telemedicine, it was disturbing not being able to communicate with our patients. During a time of social distancing and following the shelter-in-place mandate, this is a window of hope to a community that is desperately in need of regular medical attention.”

Currently, Wallace is in communication with 20 patients daily, and the clinic is in the process of training the rest of its volunteers.

“Telemedicine, as with all our medical services, is completely free to our patients,” said Sara Cumbelich, a Dame of Malta and a member of the clinic’s board of directors. “The clinic is completely funded through private donations.”