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Tom doesn’t conform to a professional stereotype. Draped over his desk chair is a leather jacket with the words “Too Much Fun Club” stitched into it. He’s a hardcore Harley head, no two ways about it. However, he’s never travels far from his professional role. When out for a run on his bike, Tom often gets called to accidents and traumas. With extensive experience in community health care that has included work at the national level with the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Tom was recently appointed to the statewide clinical task force for the California Primary Care Association (CPCA). The CPCA is a state organization comprised of more than 500 community clinics and health centers. They advocate for policy changes on behalf of California’s health centers, provide in-depth training to members in all aspects of health care and strive to improve our state’s healthcare delivery system. The clinical task force has been asked to address the legislative and clinical challenges faced by those who lack access to care. Tom’s career began when he joined the Coast Guard in 1977, where he worked in a hospital as a Corpsman. This experience coupled with growing up with a father who was a doctor, made him decide that the healthcare field was going to be his career. While in the Coast Guard, Tom got accepted to the UC Davis School of Medicine in the Physician’s Assistant program. He graduated with recognition for Excellence in Primary Care. In 1986, Tom was recruited to what was then the Mendocino County Hospital. When that facility closed in 1991, a group of local healthcare professionals, who had the support of County Supervisors, formed the nonprofit Mendocino Community Health Clinic, Inc. (MCHC), which today operates Hillside Health Center on Laws Avenue. Tom has worked for MCHC since its beginning. As part of his professional duties for MCHC, Tom is currently the organization’s representative for the National Association of Community Health Centers. He is also the lead medical representative (or “provider champion,” as his peers like to refer to him) on the Diabetes Collaborative, which is a clinical work group focused on improving care for the Clinic’s diabetic patients. At Hillside Health Center, Tom takes on the more unique patients who have “challenges in multiple dimensions of their lives.” This includes patients with diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia or other serious health conditions—often compromised by the effects of long-term drug addiction or mental illness. Tom’s patients are devoted to his nonjudgmental and expert care. If a professional career can be measured by the respect he has earned from his peers, Tom has been very successful. Everywhere he goes, Tom’s great sense of humor brings a sense of joy to the difficult work of health care and admiration from his coworkers. According to Dr. Michael Carnevale, MCHC Medical Director, “Tom really has a special rapport with patients that enables him to be particularly effective in treating our very diverse patient population. And, his new Harley is just soooo cool.” Also see: • Tom Feiertag's provider profile • Back to Healing Stories |
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