Culver City offers many different services and amenities that help the community, and Culver City Real Estate, stay in high demand. That is one of the reasons that Martin Feinberg, Realtor, has lived in Culver City for over 30 years. One such service is the Achievable Health Center.
The Achievable Health Center—or Achievable as it’s sometimes called—is a state-licensed, Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). It opened in 2013 and offers “continuous, high-quality, coordinated and integrated healthcare services.” Its mission is to “provide high quality, integrated health care to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and other vulnerable populations.”
Josh Kruskol has been with Achievable for a year and a half and is the director of development and communications. According to Kruskol, the center was able to see 1,500 patients in 2016, which represents 4,500 visits. Achievable would like to see that number rise in 2017, but to reach that goal the facility needs to expand.
What makes the Achievable Health Center so amazing is that it uses a form of integrated behavioral healthcare. The center has staff that includes doctors (including a pediatrician), a psychologist, a dentist, and more. This allows Achievable to manage all the needs of their patients, and not just focus on their disability.
Patients with diagnosed disabilities often suffer from what is known as “diagnostic overshadowing”. This means that any complaints or ailments are automatically blamed on their disability rather looking for another cause. Kruskol described situations where patients had been suffering from tumors or even broken bones but had not be treated because healthcare workers believed the symptoms were caused by the disability.
Achievable’s use of integrated healthcare helps patients be seen as whole people, and not just as their disability or diagnosis.
Kruskol explained that if a patient is agitated and won’t allow blood to be drawn, for example, that there are people at Achievable who can sing to them to help them calm down. He said, “it’s hard to take blood from somebody and keep them calm if they don’t know what is going on.”
According to Kruskol, “we have parents who say that they can’t believe they didn’t know about this place before. We’re known as LA’s best kept secret. This population has been severely underserved.”
The Achievable Health Center offers many different services. These include everything from primary medical care like well-child visits, immunizations, sick visits, pregnancy tests, and sports physicals, to psychiatric evaluations and neurological consultations. They have intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders, psychotherapy for adults and children, and even workshops and support groups to help patients and their caregivers manage the stresses that result from their mental and health conditions.
Achievable is a community non-profit and depends on fundraisers and the generosity of the public to provide the services they offer. Achievable holds many fundraisers throughout the year and is always looking for volunteers. Martin Feinberg, Culver City Realtor, recognizes the importance of these services and encourages people to visit https://achievable.org to see how they can help.
