The L.A. Trust will salute Dr. Yonekura at Sept. 30 gala
Children’s health leader Margaret Lynn Yonekura, M.D., will receive The L.A. Trust Champion award September 30 at our Salute to Student Health gala.
The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health will present its Champion Award to Margaret Lynn Yonekura, M.D., September 30 at its Salute to Student Health event at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles.
Dr. Yonekura, Director of Community Health at Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center, will be honored alongside former L.A. Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner, previously announced.
The gala event will be attended by members of The L.A. Trust community, including educators, healthcare providers and donors. Registration is now open.
”The L.A. Trust is honored to recognize my friend Dr. Yonekura for her leadership and service to our community’s children and families,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The L.A. Trust. “Her work on behalf of our students and families has had a significant impact,” Puffer said. “We are particularly grateful for her leadership on the Cultural Trauma and Mental Health Resiliency Project, her past support of our Oral Health Initiative and her service on The L.A. Trust Data xChange Expert Advisory Council, guiding the use of data to advance equity.”
L.A.’s Best Babies Network
Throughout her career Dr. Yonekura has developed comprehensive care programs to address her patients’ complex needs.
These innovative programs include: Options for Recovery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a comprehensive treatment program for pregnant and parenting women with a substance use disorder and their young children; the Hope Street Family Center at CHMC, which promotes the health and welfare of children and families through a variety of private and locally funded initiatives; and the Los Angeles Best Babies Network at CHMC, which oversees and supports perinatal and early childhood home visiting services throughout Los Angeles County.
The L.A. Best Babies Network provides training and technical assistance for over 700 home visitors, data management, facilitation of cross-site peer learning, and coordination and support of communication and messaging efforts. It also runs the L.A. County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visiting Consortium.
Years of service
Dr. Yonekura is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist with subspecialty certification in maternal-fetal medicine and a recognized expert in infectious diseases in OB-GYN and perinatal substance abuse. She served on the OB-GYN faculty at LAC-USC Medical Center from 1980-86 and was the chief of obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center from 1986-1992.
Since 1992, she has been based at Dignity Health-California Hospital Medical Center, a nonprofit public benefit hospital serving Central and South Central Los Angeles. She was director of perinatal services at CHMC until 2000, when she became director of community health. She is also an associate professor at both USC and UCLA Schools of Medicine.
Dr. Yonekura is a member of the Women’s Health Policy Council of L.A. County’s Office of Women’s Health, L.A. County Reproductive Health and the Environment Advisory Committee, L.A. County Diabetes Prevention Program Community Advisory Committee and the Preconception Health Council of California.