About Us

We (Drs. Naomi Breckon and Tracy Hu) are the co-founders of East Bay Health. We are two Family Medicine physicians who graduated in June from the John Muir Health Family Medicine Residency Program in Walnut Creek, California. East Bay Health will open in Lafayette, California with an anticipated opening date in Fall 2023.

About East Bay Health

East Bay Health is a nonprofit direct primary care (DPC) clinic. Our mission is to provide easy access to high quality primary care while supporting health equity in our community.

DPC is an emerging relationship-based healthcare model in which patients have easy access to their physician (i.e. same-day or next-day appointments along with direct phone and/or text communication) with a simple, flat and affordable membership fee. Without third-party billing and documentation requirements from insurance, physicians can spend more time with patients focusing on addressing their concerns thoroughly. This also leads to less physician burnout due to a smaller patient panel (i.e. hundreds instead of thousands of patients), less paperwork burden, and more fulfillment from spending time with patients.

DPC is often confused with Concierge medicine. Both offer longer patient visits with direct access to physicians for a monthly membership fee. Unlike DPC, however, Concierge medicine also bills insurance and its monthly membership fee is priced higher. Even with the lower membership fee of DPC, it is generally unaffordable for the uninsured/low-income population. These individuals are often the ones who would benefit most from longer visits and continuity of care (i.e. working with the same physician) to manage their usually more complicated medical conditions. However, they do not seek primary care due to fear of cost and resort to the Emergency Room to handle unmanaged conditions at a greater cost to their own health and the healthcare system.

We believe that good primary care should be accessible to all regardless of socioeconomic status or income. Thus, East Bay Health is committed to offering the DPC model of care to uninsured/low-income patients. Free memberships are available to these patients if they provide evidence that they are uninsured and qualify as very or extremely low income based on the income limits published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Unique Offerings

At East Bay Health, we know that health is directly linked to the food our patients eat. We plan to introduce to our patients culinary medicine, which combines the evidence-based approach of medicine with culinary art. We are proud to partner with local community member and chef Cindy Gershen (https://cindygershen.com/) to offer nutrition-focused cooking classes for our members and community.

Furthermore, we believe nutrition starts in the first days of life and emphasize importance of breastfeeding and baby-bonding to an infant's development. We are thrilled to have Pediatrician Dr. Maha Hanna offering in-home newborn and lactation support for the first month of life. Dr. Hanna has over 25 years of experience with Stanford, is a certified Lactation Consultant, and has worked with countless newborns helping them transition from ICU to home care and helping new mothers succeed in breastfeeding.

Lastly, we are excited to offer group classes (e.g. in chronic disease management, mindfulness, prenatal, etc.), home visits, and body work integrated into a holistic framework of care. We will also provide free community lectures on a variety of health-related topics.

Fundraising

To raise funds for start-up costs, we held a Mardi Gras fundraising gala on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at the Lafayette Park Hotel in Lafayette, CA. We are so grateful for the overwhelming community support which helped us raise over $50,000 that will help cover the cost of rent, utilities, medical equipment, and professional fees amongst other expenses.

We hope to raise another $50,000 before our grand opening in October 2023 to support office space renovations and customizations for our unique offerings (e.g. on-site kitchen and group classroom).

All donations will be fully tax deductible. You will receive a statement that you can use for your tax returns. We would love to hear from you at info@eastbayhealthcare.org if you are interested in partnering with us or have ideas of creative ways to support our organization.

Learn more about our organization at: www.eastbayhealthcare.org

Fundraiser for East Bay Health

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