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One of the core goals of our strategic plan is to advance health and improve outcomes for our diverse communities. We have developed innovative ways to pursue this goal by increasing access to care and health resources, by strengthening partnerships with organizations serving under resourced communities, advancing research and health policy that promotes equity, and supporting healthier neighborhoods through education and prevention.

Throughout the year, I am continually inspired by the ways our faculty, staff and trainees bring these commitments to life. Their work reminds us that community engagement is not simply a strategic priority. It is a responsibility, a partnership and often a deeply personal commitment to ensuring every patient and member of our community can thrive.

Spotlight on Service: Dr. Tara Shahrvini’s Commitment to Patient Advocacy and Health Equity

This week, I am pleased to highlight one such example through the work of Tara Shahrvini, MD, MBA, one of our UCLA Internal Medicine Simms-Mann continuity residents at Venice Family Clinic.

When Dr. Shahrvini first met a patient with a rare and complex medical condition during an inpatient rotation at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, he was facing more than a serious illness. Having recently relocated to California, he lacked health insurance and faced significant barriers to receiving the ongoing care he would need after leaving the hospital.

Recognizing those challenges, Dr. Shahrvini remained involved beyond the inpatient setting, helping connect him to care at Venice Family Clinic and ultimately becoming his primary care physician. Over the following months, she guided his transition to outpatient care, managed high-risk medications, helped him navigate insurance barriers and ensured he remained connected to the healthcare system.

That perspective is deeply aligned with our department's broader commitment to health equity. Dr. Shahrvini describes caring for a diverse patient population as a daily reminder of why she chose medicine and credits her training environment for demonstrating what is possible when healthcare organizations actively work to remove barriers to care.

Patients notice that commitment as well. One patient recently shared:

Add picture of Shahrvini in clinic (will send over weekend)

I am pleased to also highlight that Dr. Shahrvini's dedication to service is matched by her commitment to teaching and mentorship. This year, she was recognized with the 2026 Excellence in Teaching with Humanism Award from the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) at UCLA, an honor that reflects her ability to combine clinical excellence with compassion and support for learners.

She views the award as a reflection of the mentors who helped shape her own journey and strives to create an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, seeking guidance and developing confidence in their abilities.

"Medicine is a career of lifelong learning. Each patient brings a different story and set of circumstances. There is always more to explore, research and understand."

As we celebrate Dr. Shahrvini's accomplishments, we also celebrate what her story represents: the power of continuity, compassion and advocacy to transform patient care.

Thank you, Dr. Shahrvini, for the extraordinary care you provide to your patients, your dedication to teaching the next generation of physicians and your commitment to the communities we serve.

Creating Space for Healing: Celebrating the Opening of the Homeboy Gym

One of the most powerful lessons we learn through our community partnerships is that health extends far beyond the walls of a clinic or hospital. Health is shaped by belonging, purpose, connection and the opportunity to heal. Those themes were at the center of a special milestone the UCLA Department of Medicine (DoM) celebrated this week: the ribbon cutting for the new Homeboy Gym at Homeboy Industries.

The opening marks the realization of a vision championed by our partners at Homeboy Industries and Katie M. Fruin, MD, MSPHD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research. Earlier this year, Dr. Fruin received a Career Development Award from the American Heart Association to study the gym's feasibility as a cardiovascular prevention setting for adults navigating reentry. The project was built on a simple but profound idea: if we want to improve health outcomes, we must meet people where they are, in places they trust and invest in the community organizations already supporting healing and transformation.

Answering that question requires the collaboration of colleagues across the department of medicine. Dr. Fruin and Daniel Kozman, MD, MPH, DoM director of health equity partnerships, are partnering with Homeboy as co-principal investigators of a UC Office of the President Grow Grant supporting Homeboy’s Drug Medi-Cal drug certification, while John Timmerman, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of hematology oncology, explored whether Homeboy-trained coaches could one day deliver structured exercise programming for cancer survivors, building on evidence presented in the CHALLENGE trial in colon cancer.

“It's early, but the gym already embodies Homeboy's belief that there is ‘no us and them, just us.’ All of us bringing our skills and experience to promote the health of our Homeboy trainees, our UCLA patients and our own families,” Dr. Fruin reflected.

I want to personally thank Katie for her leadership and commitment to a partnership that has involved other members of the department of medicine who have not only provided mentorship, but also service to members of the Homeboy community. It was also a privilege to see Homeboy in action, as Katie took our DoM guests and other representatives from the DGSOM for a tour of the facilities ahead of the gym opening.

As speakers gathered to celebrate the opening, it became clear that the day was about much more than a new fitness facility.

Homeboy Industries CEO Shirley Torres reflected on the organization's origins, recalling how Homeboy's work began with a radical invitation: to stand with those who had been pushed to the margins and help them choose life over violence and despair. The gym, she suggested, is the latest chapter in that journey. It represents a continued investment in the belief that people deserve not only jobs and opportunities, but also wellness, dignity and the chance to become whole.

Throughout her remarks, Torres returned to a simple truth: healing cannot happen alone. It requires community, partnership and spaces where people feel seen and valued. The gym stands as a tangible expression of that philosophy, a place where individuals can strengthen not only their bodies, but also reconnect with their aspirations, their resilience and their sense of belonging.

That message was perhaps most powerfully illustrated by the stories of Homeboy trainees themselves.

For Ronald, a Homeboy Gym trainee, the gym became a refuge, a place where he could step away from the pressures of daily life and simply breathe. Through the program, he found opportunities to connect with people from different backgrounds, discover new perspectives and imagine new possibilities for himself. His reflection that "all you gotta do is breathe" captured the spirit of the day: healing begins not with perfection, but with presence.

Karla's journey offered another perspective on what wellness can look like. She spoke candidly about struggling to process difficult experiences through traditional conversations or therapy. Instead, she found healing through movement and physical strength. Learning to carry weight in the gym helped her learn how to carry life's burdens outside of it. Just as importantly, she witnessed that transformation in others, watching fellow trainees grow stronger physically while finding new confidence and hope along the way.

Homeboy Industries founder Father Greg Boyle captured this idea beautifully as he reflected on what health truly means. Too often, he noted, we define health as the absence of illness. At Homeboy, the aspiration is much larger. Health is about flourishing. It is about helping people inhabit the truth of who they are and recognize their own worth. The gym, he suggested, provides another pathway toward that goal, creating opportunities for people to reconnect with themselves and envision a different future.

We are grateful to our partners at Homeboy Industries, Dr. Fruin and her mentor team, and the many supporters who helped bring this vision to life. Their work reminds us that advancing health means investing not only in healthcare, but also in the people, relationships and community spaces that allow individuals and neighborhoods to thrive.

Building the Future: Supporting the Next Generation of First-Generation Physician Leaders

Our commitment to advancing health and improving outcomes for the communities we serve depends not only on the work we do today, but also on the physicians we help develop for tomorrow. To sustain meaningful community engagement, we must continue building a healthcare workforce that reflects the experiences, cultures and communities we serve.

That commitment was on full display at the Ninth Annual First Gen Community Mixer at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where incoming first-generation medical students were welcomed into a growing community of peers, trainees, staff, faculty and mentors who share the experience of being the first in their families to pursue higher education.

The event was made possible through the leadership of students and the ongoing support of faculty advisors Alejandra Casillas, MD, MSHS and Veronica Ramirez, MD, whose mentorship has helped First Gen Leaders at UCLA grow into a vibrant community of support and belonging.

Dr. Veronica Ramirez (left) and Alejandra Casillas (right) deliver welcoming remarks at the First Gen Community Mixer.

In welcoming the incoming class, Dr. Casillas reflected on the importance of finding community during times of transition. As a first-generation college graduate herself, she reminded students that while the journey through medical education can feel overwhelming, they do not have to navigate it alone. The first-generation community exists to ensure students feel seen, supported and connected throughout their training.

The evening's keynote speaker, Dr. Cesar Barba, associate medical director at Venice Family Clinic and a graduate of the Charles R. Drew University-UCLA Medical Education Program, offered a candid reflection on the challenges and strengths that often accompany the first-generation college graduate experience. Drawing on his own story as the child of immigrants and the first in his family to attend college and then medical school, he spoke about resilience, self-reliance and the determination required to navigate systems that were not always designed with first-generation students in mind.

Yet his central message was one of community. While many first-generation students become accustomed to figuring things out on their own, he challenged the audience to embrace a different approach: leaning on one another, seeking mentorship and helping those who come after them.

Throughout the evening, students were reminded that the qualities that helped them arrive at medical school, perseverance, resourcefulness, grit and empathy, are the same qualities that will make them exceptional physicians. Those lived experiences often provide a unique understanding of the challenges faced by patients and communities, helping future physicians build trust, foster connection and deliver more compassionate care.

Enjoy a few pictures from the event below!

As we continue to invest in the health of our communities, we must also invest in the people who will lead that work in the future. Programs like First Gen @ DGSOM help ensure that talented individuals from all backgrounds can see themselves in medicine, find support along the way and ultimately clinicians and health care leaders who bring invaluable perspectives to the patients and communities they serve.

We are grateful to Dr. Casillas, Dr. Ramirez, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, student leaders and the many mentors who continue to create spaces where first-generation students can thrive. Their efforts are helping build a physician workforce that is not only excellent, but deeply connected to the communities we serve.

As we face increasing headwinds to our ability to care for the most vulnerable members of the community, I am heartened by the grassroots efforts and commitment of our faculty to ensure that health and wellness should never be out of reach to anyone who needs it.

Dale

P.S.

From time to time, we are given orchids as gifts. The flowers are beautiful, but we have struggled to sustain them after the original ones fall off. My wife has found a corner of our yard with a microclimate that seems to enable them to flower again! There is always hope.

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