In 2016, UCSF Fresno opened a cystic fibrosis center where adults are as welcome as newborns.
The UCSF Fresno Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center in downtown Fresno is the only combined adult and pediatric CF center in the San Joaquin Valley that is nationally accredited by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The age range of patients seen at the center is remarkable.
CF is a progressive genetic disease that used to be a disease in children. Three decades ago, a baby born with CF had a life expectancy of about 30 years, but advancements in medications and treatments have significantly increased life expectancy. In 2024, the median age of survival for a newborn with CF is 61 years.
CF symptoms and how severe they are can vary from person to person. The disease affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs of the body. Secretions can lead to lung infections, disrupt the digestive system so that the body does not absorb food and nutrients, and block the bile duct in the liver.
Providing a continuum of care from infancy to adulthood for people with CF is needed more than ever, said Anil Ghimire, MD, a UCSF associate clinical professor and an Inspire Health pulmonologist who sees adult patients. “The number of adults with CF is going to grow, and the Valley will have a significant number of adults with CF. So, there is a need, and we are here to help. We are the only accredited CF center that can provide care to adults with CF locally.”
Paul Do, MD, a UCSF associate clinical professor, medical director of the UCSF Fresno CF Center, and an Inspire Health pediatric pulmonologist, said, “The great thing about our center is that once our pediatric patients turn 18 or 21, we can transition them to the adult program where they can continue seeing the same team and getting the same care.”
Abigail Treadway, 23, appreciates having the UCSF Fresno CF Center in the Valley. “It’s very important,” she said. “I’ve had several doctors in the past who don’t understand how CF works, and they would say one thing, and you know, even as a child, I would know that is not how my body works.”
Abigail said the medical team at the UCSF Fresno CF Center understands CF and what patients experience. “It makes it so much easier to be able to find the solutions that you’re wanting because you’re not having to try and find ways to explain the problem.”
This fall, UCSF Fresno hosted a Cystic Fibrosis Family Education Day for pediatric and adult patients and their families. It was a day for sharing information, the latest developments in treatments and medications, as well as a day for community building. Having people who have similar experiences share their experiences “is therapeutic and helpful for them,” Dr. Ghimire said. CF is a chronic disease, and a single person needs a community for support, he said. The CF Education Day creates a sense of community as we are all a group of people with the same mission to help people with CF.
The event also increased awareness of the UCSF Fresno CF Center. The center has an interdisciplinary team of Community Health System employees that includes a coordinator, respiratory therapists, a registered dietician, a pharmacist, a physical therapist, and a social worker. The center provides sweat chloride testing, complete pulmonary function testing, cardiopulmonary stress tests, bronchoscopy, and high-resolution CT scans. It can perform lung function testing on children less than five years of age with impulse oscillometry studies.
“We just want people to know we are here to provide that care,” Dr. Ghimire said. “And we provide the same level of care as other centers.”
