Letter From Our President
This year will mark 33 years since I began my private practice as a nephrologist. It has evolved in ways I never imagined with many of the dreams I had as a young physician coming to fruition. I am proud to say that Los Angeles County Nephrology Associates (LACNA) is now one of the largest Nephrology groups in the greater Los Angeles area, caring for a diverse community of patients and contributing to the progression of the nephrology field.
Much has changed in medicine over the last three decades. For patients, the burden of kidney disease has increased with the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic conditions. It is my great honor to partner with our patients and their loved ones as they navigate these diagnoses.
I began my nephrology training at the University of Pittsburgh, which was known for its peritoneal dialysis (PD) program. It was always my goal to grow LACNA into an organization that could care for more than 100 PD patients. By the early 2000s, LACNA had three physician partners including myself and Dr. Pradip Chowdhury. By 2007, we opened our first free-standing PD center in Montebello, California and named it the Peritoneal Dialysis Center of America. We soon added a second PD center in San Gabriel. Between these two locations, we have been able to treat close to 150 PD patients with approximately 25% of our dialysis patients engaging in home therapy modalities. This provides comfortability and improved accessibility that we hope to continue growing.
While peritoneal dialysis is one of our most common interventions, we regularly treat all kidney conditions and perform several procedures on a daily basis. Some of these interventions include tunneled catheter insertions and removals, fistulograms, angioplasties, and thrombectomies of AVF/AVG.
Today, LACNA is proud to be the home of 7 Board Certified Nephrologists and 3 mid-level providers. We have the ability to care for patients within an area of 10 hospitals and 14 dialysis centers. Our clinical capacity has grown to over 600 patients in the office each month.
I believe that to provide the best care, we must also invest in clinical research and the training of future specialists. At LACNA, our providers engage in promising clinical research that include Phase 3 drug studies, which look at the safety and indications of new drugs. We are also heavily involved in clinical education and invite medical students and physician assistant (PA) students to learn from our LACNA providers and savor the complexity of the nephrology world. Most recently, we have begun collaborating with the Physician Assistant graduate training program at the Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCUHS).
We are well poised to continue growing every aspect of our practice, from our PD home therapy programs, to clinical research, to training new and enthusiastic nephrology specialists. It is my great pleasure to be part of the LACNA organization and work alongside our physicians, PAs, and each of our clinical and administration staff members.
LACNA continues to provide care that is compassionate, cutting edge, and accessible. It is a privilege to partner with our families in their short and long-term health goals and to help them achieve their highest quality of life.
Carlos R. Gonzalez, MD
President and Founding Physician of LACNA