Saha Health Center Opens in the Sacramento Area
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Another great effort by Muslims in the greater Sacramento area is the addition of a brand new and no-fee health center located at 4836 Marconi Avenue, Carmichael, CA 95608.
It is associated with the Qoba Foundation which since the 1980’s has catered to the religious and (Farsi language) school needs of the local Iranian and South Asian Shia community.
On March 16 th the inauguration of this Saha Health Center attracted a wide spectrum of people who came to this location to see what the facility offers for patients from all walks of life (this facility is spearheaded by, but is not exclusively for, Muslim patients).
This scribe was given a tour of the clinic by Dr Sajad Janmohamed who is enthusiastic to see it reach maximum utilization. From what was observed this center is no different from any other professionally run medical clinic with its own waiting area, admitting area where weight and vitals can be recorded plus individual examination rooms and discharge area.
Volunteers were present at all these stations and actual patients were being seen at the facility on the opening day. The providers, medical directors and nurses were all busy logging information on to paper or transferring it into e-charts.
I asked Dr Janmohamed why the clinic was needed and he answered: “Based on statistics, we know that there are several thousand Iraqi and other Middle Eastern country
refugees and immigrants who have recently located to Sacramento county area. While the center is initiated by our community, it was NEVER our intention to serve only our community.”
The clinic does offer free health care and directs patients towards low-cost prescriptions through Walmart and Sams Club etc.. Arrangements have also been made locally with Quest Lab for lab services at a discount and with Radiological Associates of Sacramento (RAS) for radiological studies at a slight discount.
On the hours of operation Dr Janmohamed elaborated: “We are trying to determine this based on the availability of volunteer staff - with the expectation that we would be having a clinic every Saturday from 1 - 5 pm. At present it is every third Saturday of the month.”
The Saha Health Center would like to acknowledge the help provided by Dr Leonard Ranasinghe (a Christian) and the Medical Clinic at the Natomas Crossroads Church in Sacramento for their guidance and help in the establishment of Saha. Dr Leonard also volunteered his services at this inaugural event.
It is heartening to see the Muslim community here has matured and become a collective-positive contributor to the American social landscape. Not only is this good for us immigrants who initially came to this country “temporarily” about 30 or 40 years ago but also for our next generation of Muslim-Americans of all sects and national origins.
Efforts like the Saha Health Center and others like it across America give our community a permanent sense of belonging. And it is great that in the process we are able to help new immigrants with their needs without ignoring all our other neighbors.
(The Saha Health Center can be contacted by email at sahahealthcenter@gmail.com and by phone at 916.283.6731)
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