Bank Fund Puts Its Money Where Mouths Are

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Bank Fund Puts Its Money Where Mouths Are
Matthew Alpert

The UCLA School of Dentistry and Koreatown’s Wilshire State Bank have formed an unusual partnership to provide better dental care to underserved residents in and around downtown Los Angeles.

The new Wilshire State Bank Community Outreach Fund has pledged $100,000 to the dental school over five years to provide free care to the multiethnic community. Oral health screenings are planned in early October at the bank’s headquarters at 3200 Wilshire Blvd., with follow-up care for selected patients provided at the school’s clinic in Westwood.

The partnership expects to treat about 100 patients in its inaugural round.

“A large percentage of systemic diseases have oral manifestations, including swollen gums, mouth ulcers, dry mouth and excessive gum problems,” said Dr. No-Hee Park, dean of the dental school. “By providing dental screenings and treatment for people who don’t have adequate access to dental care, we can potentially save lives.”

The money will cover part of the cost of supplies to examine, screen and treat individuals, including take-home dental care kits. The dental school will contribute $100,000 worth of in-kind donations, including faculty time, additional supplies and staff support in the school clinic. Faculty, residents and dental students will provide the care.

“Wilshire State Bank has a large presence in downtown Los Angeles,” said Jae Whan Yoo, president of the bank and chief executive of its holding company, Wilshire Bancorp Inc. “I couldn’t be more pleased about our partnership … and the good will the collaboration will provide to the community.”

Seeing Growth

When the commercial real estate market was floundering a few years ago, Dr. Matthew Alpert saw an opportunity to build his optometry practice for the future.

The third-generation optometrist doubled the size of his main clinic in Woodland Hills and opened a satellite office at an upscale Calabasas shopping center.

“I saw the downturn as an opportunity to do some business development that I wouldn’t normally have been able to afford to do,” Alpert said. “I had leverage I would not have had a few years earlier, when the economy was growing.”

In 1996, Alpert took over the family business, Alpert Vision Care, fresh out of optometry school, when his father suddenly died. When the lease at the Ventura Boulevard facility near DeSoto Avenue was up for renewal in 2009, Alpert decided that rather than move from the 1,400-square-foot facility, he’d try to get an affordable deal on even more space, which enabled him to open an optical shop offering frames and vision accessories.

Alpert next set his sights on a part of upscale Calabasas that didn’t have an optometrist. Several months later, he opened a second clinic in a storefront at Calabasas Commons, a Caruso Affiliated shopping center. He also was able to equip the two offices at lower costs, he said, because medical equipment vendors at the time were also suffering and willing to negotiate deals.

Alpert, who sits on the board of vision benefits and services firm VSP Vision Care in Rancho Cordova, said that affiliation allowed him to attract the patient load that would support his larger practice as the economy recovered. He now has two associates and about a dozen employees.

“About half my patients come from VSP and the rest from Medicare or private pay,” he said. “I was more willing to take the risk, especially in expanding to Calabasas, because the demographics of the community would support a higher-end practice.”


Reaching Out

The Los Angeles County Medical Association last month announced the formation of an African-American Physicians Advisory Committee, which the 6,500-member doctors group hopes will provide leadership on improving the quality and availability of health care in L.A.’s underserved communities. The committee is led by Dr. Richard Baker and Dr. Toni Chavis-Greene.

The new group is part of an effort by the association to provide better care around the county, including boosting the number of minority physicians. The professional group earlier formed three other advisory committees targeting the needs of Latinos, Asian-Americans and women.

Staff reporter Deborah Crowe can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 232.

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