Guest Commentary written by
Paola Portillo
Paola Portillo is a clinical social worker and therapist at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland.
A year after taking over Children’s Hospital Oakland, the UC San Francisco decision to move critical pediatric care out of Oakland has left East Bay children and families to cope with the consequences.
As a clinical social worker and therapist supporting children with sickle cell disease, cancer and other serious illnesses, I support families who already must manage fear, financial strain, transportation barriers and the immense demands of caring for a sick child…