John Mihalik, MD

Bio

As a Physician, I enjoy the great variety of people and medical problems I encounter daily. I've been trained to take care of people of all ages, from newborns to geriatric patients.

Trained in Western Medicine, I strive to provide the best possible medical advice based on scientific evidence and apply it in the unique context of each person I am working with.

One of the great things about practicing medicine at Kaiser Permanente is the availability of tremendous programs which help with smoking cessation, diabetic care, congestive heart failure, cholesterol and general health education. The preventative programs here are recognized as among the best in the world and are considered by many to be a model for healthcare for the world. I am happy to be able to offer my patients access to such a great system!

However, prevention is not always successful. There are number of reasons why people sometimes come down with illness end of this illness is not enough to land you in the hospital, then to a specialist in hospital medicine called a "hospitalist" will be taken care of you. That's what I do.

My role is to help make sure that you have the best possible care while in the hospital. That means getting safe care, the correct diagnosis and the correct treatment.
That sounds simple but often is a complex process.

If you are a medical patient, then I will likely be directing your care, ordering test, making a diagnosis, ordering the proper treatment and supervising its implementation. I will help coordinate to care between various other specialist who may be involved in your treatment.

If you are a surgical patient, then a hospitalist like myself may be involved as a consultant to the surgeon to manage any medical problems you may have such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease or infection.

I'm proud to be associated with my colleagues with whom I have great confidence in their experience, training and judgment. We have a common goal of making sure that you get the best possible care while in the hospital.

We also will communicate with your primary doctor when you leave the hospital to make sure that that care continues as an outpatient. I'm also proud to work with an excellent team of respiratory, radiology and laboratory personnel and a superb nursing staff who helped to make sure that the care which is ordered actually is carried out appropriately.

While in the hospital, you may receive for a powerful treatments and medications. These can treat serious illness and save lives. However, I continue to believe that exercise, diet and lifestyle choices are key to a healthy life and sometimes more important than any single medicine.

Taking care of yourself involves more than simply giving medications. I believe patients need to take responsibility for their healthcare. I can give you advice but you need to implement your choices!

My web site has links to provide information on a wide variety of health issue, tips, and advice to help you care for yourself and live a full and healthy life!

A little about my background:

I have been trained in philosophy, in particular biomedical ethics. I spent five years training to be a priest and was a Jesuit during that time.

After realizing the priesthood was not for me, I continued to want to serve people and chose to enter medicine. I did my medical training in Seattle and came to Sonoma County in 1991 to become medical director of Alliance Medical Center.

This rural health center serves an approximately 80% monolingual Spanish-speaking population of primarily farm workers and their families. I also worked at a rural clinic in Gualala before going into private practice in Cloverdale in 1994. I remained in Cloverdale with a hospital practice at Healdsburg General Hospital until coming to Kaiser Permanente in February 2003.

I continue to work in the primary care clinic at Kaiser as well has worked in the hospital from February 2003 until late April 2006. At that time, a left primary care to concentrate on my role as a hospitalist and focus on giving excellent care to those ill enough to enter the hospital.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I choose Medicine as a way of being of service to people. I grew up thinking I would be a priest. When I realized that celibacy was not for me, I began looking for another way to spend my life in service. I find that Medicine allows me to find meaning in the profession which goes beyond just being a job. I love the interaction with patients and with colleagues, the emotional and intellectual challenge and the great variety that comes in the day to day practice of medicine.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

One of my "fun" medical interests is sports medicine and I have worked with various amateur and professional athletes in a number of settings from high school and collegiate to Olympic and professional athletes. I was one of the physicians for the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle. I have been one of the medical directors of the Vineman Triathlon in Santa Rosa and also at the IronMan Championship in Kona, Hawaii.

Current projects or research:

I am now working in the hospital full time and find it intellectually stimulating and a privilege to work with patients during such an important time of their lives.

Photos from My Training Years or of Practicing Medicine in My Field:

Taking Care of Athletes after the triathlon

At The Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii

Interests

Great movie:
Cinema Paradiso, Life is Beautiful

Hobby Photos & Links:

At the Healdsburg Guitar Festival with my new Archtop Guitar

After the San Luis Obispo Triathlon

Hawaii Ironman Triathlon News
link to jazz club in Oakland for great music and food

Family & Friends

People in my life:

I am very happy and fortunate to be married to Cathy! She is a very talented artist, hospice nurse, best friend and the mother of our two wonderful daughters.

My children and people I care about:

My oldest daughter is Amanda Rose. She graduated from Seattle University with honors and is very service oriented, artistic, and compassionate. She is currently a student at Loyola Strich School of Medicine in Chicago.She is interested in practicing medicine internationally in underserved areas. She has already done volunteer work in Napal, Belize, the Dominican Republic and the United States. This summer she worked with AIDS patients in Uganda and Kenya.

My youngest daughter is Lily Mazet. She graduated in May 2007 from UC Berkeley. She is vivacious, enthusiastic and, although majoring in Cultural Geography, her passion is playing Ultimate frisbee. Her UC team was ranked in the top 5 nationally. Since graduating from UC Berkeley. she continues to play ultimate in club leagues and is an intern at KQED in learning radio journalism.

Photos of my Family & Friends:

Cathy at the New York Cloisters

Lily at Ultimate Tournament

Amanda

Our pets include various feathered friends and 2 cats: Greenie and Molly.
Our beloved husky, Violet, died last summer. We miss her!

Travel

Favorite place in the world:

One of my favorite places in the world is Oaxaca, Mexico. The capital city is the same name as the state, so it is Oaxaca, Oaxaca, like NY, NY. It is a beautiful old city in the mountains with a rich indigenous culture mixed with Spanish colonial architecture. The city is noted for its fine art, crafts, dance and especially for the best Mole (pronounced "mole A") sauces in the world. This complex sauce contains multiple chilies, spices and chocolate and makes a rich addition to chicken, enchiladas and tamales!

Our family has enjoyed trips to Oaxaca to study Spanish language and culture. Below is a link to a photo of my daughter Amanda and I in full local garb as part of our participation in a dance class at the Instituto Cultural de Oaxaca.

One of my recent trips:

We recently went to Santiago, Chile to visit our daughter Lily. We traveled up and down the length of the coast to experience the broad variety of geographic features and wildlife and o generally had a good time! One of my favorite places is called Puerto Varus located near the ocean and on the shore of a very large lake (think Great Lakes size) and in the shadow of snow capped peaks of the Andes. From there one can day trip to hot springs, to beautiful high peak hikes or south to visit Penquins!

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

Amanda and John in Oaxaca