ACT is multidisciplinary. From our patient navigator to our nurse practitioner, our team's diverse members have unique skills tailored to our patients' needs. See who we are below.

“I enjoy being part of a team that can potentially be saving a life. I like informing patients that there is help and that they are not alone. I love that our team aims for stigma free care and our patients feel comfortable talking about their struggle with substances without feeling shamed.”

Xenia Guandique - License Vocational Nurse
“I enjoy the collective enthusiasm we share for our work. Not every case is a success, but we keep trying and everyone is doing their best.”

Kathy LeSaint - Attending
“I love learning from patients about their experiences and following them throughout their journey.”

Hannah Snyder - Co-Investigator
“Every day, I walk away with new knowledge from patients' perspectives that I could never learn from a book or training. I enjoy working with the diverse patient population that comes through our Emergency Department. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear the stories of people from all backgrounds and life experiences.”

Rachel Perrera - Patient Navigator
“ACT is a great team; I really enjoy learning more about what we do and seeing the team in action.”

Naomi López-Solano - Program Coordinator

Dr. Marlene Martin

Director

she/her

I support staff and clinicans, manage operations, engage stakeholders, and create the long term strategy, collaborative mission, and vision for ACT. I love working with our growth oriented team and dedicated community to continue improving services for our patients.

Alex Logan

Dr. Alex Logan

Associate Director

he/him

I help create meaningful, high-yield experiences for ACT learners and improve the care of patients through systems-based changes and interprofessional work.

Maria Solorzano

Administrative Coordinator

she/her

I manage administrative functions and am the central point of contact between students, faculty, and staff. My duties include scheduling, onboarding, and troubleshooting administrative problems that arise. I also help with program development and workflow improvement.

It's a privilege to be part of our patients' care. We see the importance of providing substance use services to our patients. It's great to work an interprofessional team of nurses, patient navigators, fellows, and trainees to provide person-centered care, while advocating and reducing stigma towards people who use substances.

Dr. Marlene Martin, ACT Director

Patty Moreno.

Patty Moreno

Patient Navigator

I am committed to providing patients, living with substance use, compassionate and culturally competent care. Guiding them through the complex healthcare system is both a privilege and a rewarding experience. I directly connect with my community and actively contribute to their journey towards recovery.

Sophie Zhai.

Sophie Zhai

Patient Navigator

I help people who use drugs achieve their treatment goals by bridging the gap between the hospital and community care settings. I am excited to be part of a team that advocates for person-centered, low-barrier addiction care.

Patient Navigator

Martha Castellanos

Licensed Vocational Nurse

she/her

I speak to patients who may be in need of intervention. I listen for change talk and use my patients' own motivations for positive change wherever they may be in the process of addiction. I share knowledge and provide counseling and support.

Xenia Guandique

Licensed Vocational Nurse

she/her

I see patients with unhealthy alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and assess them for addiction. I share my findings with my patients' primary team while focusing on my patients' goals around their addiction. For those that don't have substance use disorders, I educate them about substance use. I also work with other ACT members to deliver services to our patient.

Gabriela Guardado

Licensed Vocational Nurse

she/her

I visit patients admitted in the hospital and screen them for unhealthy substance use disorders. I work alongside a team of addiction medicine doctors, patient navigators, and nurses who are dedicated in treating and educating patients on substance use disorders while maintaining the patients' health and goals as priority. I also provide Harm Reduction teaching and motivational interviewing to maximize safety and awareness in the community all while reducing stigma surrounding substance use.

Johanna Sluser

Nurse Practitioner

she/her

I help people explore their goals around substance use and provide them with information about treatment and harm reduction. In my role, I make recommendations about medications and treatment to help ensure our patients who use drugs and alcohol receive the best care possible while they are in the hospital.

Dr. Kathy LeSaint

ED Lead

she/her

I completed a residency in emergency medicine and fellowship in medical toxicology. My research is based in substance use disorders, so I am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate and learn from like-minded colleagues on ACT. Assisting in the treatment of patients with substance use disorders is highly rewarding!

D'Arius Hambrick

Patient Navigator

he/him

I work in the Emergency Department and Family Health Center Bridge outpatient clinic, to provide low-barrier care and promote continuity between acute and outpatient settings. I conduct motivational interviewing, provide information and resources for medication treatment and harm reduction, and refer patients to detox programs, residential treatment, outpatient follow-up, and community resources.

Center: Dr. Paula Lum, UCSF Primary Care Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program Director. Left to Right: Dr. Jesse Ristau, Dr. Nicky Mehtani, and Dr. Sarah Leyde (2019-20 Addiction Medicine Fellows) and Alyssa Michaels, MS, Fellowship Program Administrator.

Addiction Care Team evaluatION (ACTION)

Dr. Oanh Nguyen

Principal Investigator

she/her

I am a hospitalist, health services researcher, and implementation scientist leading the ACT program evaluation. I am excited to generate evidence to support best practices for hospital-based addiction care for our patients and our community.

Leslie

Dr. Leslie Suen

Principal Investigator

she/her

I am an ACT attending and health services researcher evaluating ACT interventions at SFGH. My goal is to shed light on ACT's work and share that knowledge and expertise with others to improve our care for patients who use substances.

Dr. Marlene Martin

Co-Investigator

she/her

I am part of the evaluation team and contribute to assessing our service's impact.

Sasha Skinner

Data Analyst

she/her

As ACT's data analyst, I work on the evaluation side building reports, managing data, and providing statistics-related support for evaluation efforts. ACT's work with marginalized and underserved populations is integral to health as a basic human right.