What We Do

Patient Care

Patient Health Advocates (PHA) was one of four programs that comprised the larger organization, SCOPE at UCLA. SCOPE — which stands for Students for Community Outreach, Promotion, and Education — was established in the summer of 2003 as an effort between medical students, public health graduate students, and undergraduates to provide more comprehensive care to patients at UCLA Health 200 Medical Plaza. Our program was founded under the guidance of pediatric physician Dr. Alice Kuo, MD, PhD. Dr. Denise Nunez, MD, MPH, serves as our current advisor.

Originally Resource Desk, the program was later renamed and restructured as Patient Health Advocates. Now an independent student organization, PHA remains a collaborative endeavor between undergraduate caseworkers and UCLA physicians to provide underserved patients with personalized community resources. Therefore, a training curriculum focused on relevant public health topics is taught to new caseworkers every fall. The course not only prepares caseworkers for one-on-one interactions with patients but also provides an understanding of the social determinants of health that impact health.

Patient Health Advocates currently serves patients at the UCLA Medicine-Pediatrics Comprehensive Care Center in Santa Monica.

In the future, Patient Health Advocates hopes to expand its patient outreach and continue empowering communities across Los Angeles.

Community Outreach

In addition to volunteering at UCLA Health, PHA is actively involved in various community-led initiatives for underserved populations. Through these efforts, we seek to promote health equity for communities across Greater Los Angeles. While collaborations may be spearheaded and managed by different project teams, all PHA members are invited to participate.

At monthly free clinics hosted by Vituity Cares Foundation, physicians, volunteers, and community leaders provide medical care and food to the unhoused population in Skid Row. At these clinics, PHA volunteers provide caseworking services and affordable community resources.

St James' Saturday Soup Kitchen offers a buffet space for breakfast and lunch, clothing distribution, bathroom access, and a charging station for low-income and unhoused individuals. Our volunteers help both prepare and serve meals, while engaging with attendees.

PHA brings its services to free community health fairs, hosted by organizations like UCLA Asian Pacific Health Corps. To prepare for these fairs, our project teams develop resource pamphlets and informational flyers tailored to the needs of target populations.

Patient Health Advocates has seven project teams in place: Resource, Health Technology, Outreach, Finance, Community, Member Development, and Transitional Care. Each project is dedicated to improving a different aspect of Patient Health Advocates’ interactions with patients, physicians, and one another.

Resource

Manages and maintains the quality of PHA’s resource database, increases accessibility of resources, and participates in health fairs to expand our services.

Outreach

Increases our organization’s influence on and off campus by collaborating with external organizations and creating promotional materials.

Health
Technology

Facilitates the onboarding process for volunteers and spearheads initiatives to improve clinical workflows.

Finance

Manages all funds and expenses for PHA, organizes club fundraisers, and budgets for PHA's events (socials, retreat, banquet, etc.).

Community

Plans socials of all kinds (including book clubs!), organizes PHA's annual banquet, and supports activities to foster community within PHA.

Member Development

Plans and facilitates workshops and guest speaker sessions, creates career development resources, and runs PHA's mentorship program.

Transitional Care

Works with physicians to create educational materials for patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care, equipping them with the skills to manage their health independently.