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Scott Webb: The Taylor Farms Family health and wellness center is a 20,000-foot family practice medical center that serves south county residents. And joining me today is Dr. Christine Ponzio. She was born and raised in the area and she's the medical director of the center. And she's going to tell us about the history of the center and the full range of patient services that are offered.

This is Ask the Experts, the podcast from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb. Dr. Ponzio, thanks so much for your time. I'm going to learn along with listeners today about Taylor Farms Family Health and Wellness center. So as we get rolling here, tell us about the clinic, you know, when did it open, all that good stuff.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: Well, there's a little bit of a history to it. I have been practicing in the community of Gonzales since I finished my residency. I started 1984. And at that time, it was Gonzales Medical Group. And I worked under a Dr. James Fassett and Dr. June Dunbar. And when they retired, I took over the practice. And then, we got a rural health clinic designation to better serve the Medi-Cal and the Medicare population.

You know, as time goes on, medicine's gotten a little complicated. It's hard enough just practicing medicine with the business aspect. So in 2012, we started discussions with Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and they agreed to kind of make a new clinic using parts of the old one to better serve the Salinas Valley. Because the area goes from Salinas clear down to King City, it's about 50 miles and there's little communities along the way. So they came on board and we built a new facility, Salinas Valley did in Gonzales. And we opened officially in October of 2015.

The reason it's called Taylor Farms is Taylor Farms is an ag company and they donated a million dollars to this clinic, and they're a packing company. And they had clinics for COVID vaccinations. And recently, there was an outbreak of TB and they were on it and we got over there and screened all these people and made sure they got the proper treatment. It was really gratifying to see them that they care about their employees as well.

Scott Webb: Yeah, that's really cool. And let's talk about the purpose a little bit, you know, you mentioned Medicare and Medi-Cal, those populations. So generally speaking from the SVMHS and your perspective, what is the purpose?

Dr. Christine Ponzio: Well, the purpose is to provide comprehensive healthcare for the town in the Salinas Valley. Also with Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, they're able to bring other resources such as specialty care services that were sorely needed like education and also give us the ability to expand services and not just for the clinic itself, but for all the providers and for the people in the Salinas Valley. So the kind of thing we focus on is family practice. From infants to geriatrics, we provide comprehensive health care. And then, the services that we can offer because as Salinas Valley is orthopedic, we have a gastroenterologist that comes down a few days a month, and a cardiologist who comes down. And also, they're open to provide for other doctor's patients, other clinics that are in the valley.

Scott Webb: I wanted to just follow up, you know, when we talk about the medical services, I'm sure it's probably a little busier on the days when some of the specialties are in the house so to speak. But let's go through sort of the full list of medical services. As you say, you're seeing babies up to, you know, perhaps 100-year-olds, right? But it's somewhere in between there, when we think about family practice and also the Medicaid and Medi-Cal, which we'll get into later, let's talk about the full range of services that are offered.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: Let's start from babies. We do well-child care. We will check infants after they're born. And then along through preschool and school, we provide well-child care. Also, we provide acute care when they're sick. And then, we also have lab services there that we can do. And then for adults, we provide comprehensive care and wellness, making sure that they're getting their proper tests and preventative care such as Pap smears. You know, make sure they can get their mammograms, screening for diabetes. And we're providing comprehensive diabetic education.

Now, COVID kind of put the brakes on a lot of things, that really disrupted and we're hoping to get back on track. Also, we provide immunizations. We provide COVID vaccinations and also immunizations that children and adults need. Also, we do women care and contraception as well.

Scott Webb: Yeah, it's an impressive range of services. I was just sort of looking at the website and it's family medicine, prenatal care. You talked about the specialties that may, you know, be in the house from time to time or a few days here and there and annual sports and school physicals and immunizations and everything in between. It's really impressive, and so is this expansion. You're now a 20,000-square foot facility. Maybe you can tell us about the expansion.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: The original clinic was like 5,000-square feet. When we first moved into it, we added more providers and we quickly were squeezed. So, the hospital and the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System looked at an expansion and it looked at if we can expand services, because it's easier to grow into it than to try to add on. And then, we grew to 20,000-square feet. Now, we're using about 75% of that right now. But we have room to add for more providers, because the towns are growing in Southern Monterey county. There's new housing going in in all the towns, not just in Gonzalez, but in Solidad, Greenfield and King City. So we can be able to handle increased population.

Also, we really want to emphasize wellness and education and that's kind of our next phase, is to expand our education programs. Right now, we have some diabetic teaching and we're hoping to expand that, but also we want to serve the elderly. We have an association with Alliance on Aging and Visiting Nurse Association to help provide services for the elderly.

Scott Webb: When we think about the actual patients, the majority of your patients, maybe you can just paint a little bit of a picture, what languages do they speak, and so on.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: Well, some of these patients have been my patients for 25 years, maybe close to 30. We take care of the whole family. Like, I tell my patients, we're all growing old together. And you get to know them. There's a personal side to this that we get to know each other and we have a lot of trust. And then, when you develop that close relationship with people, you have a better intuition of what's going on with them medically. You know, like when you've known them for 20 years, you can tell when something's wrong or something needs to be addressed. And also, we build a lot of trust. I know in general we want to provide more services to the community, but it really comes down to that one-on-one with each patient and taking into account their whole family.

Scott Webb: Yeah. So I'm assuming that, some of your patients, if not a majority, are Spanish speakers. And so when you think about the staff and meeting the demands, right, physicians, nurses, and so on, do you have a lot of Spanish speakers on the staff as well?

Dr. Christine Ponzio: Yes, we do. And I speak Spanish. Not very well, but I do. We get by. All my staff are Spanish speakers. But there are other languages too, that pop up from time to time. We have an ability to use a translator. There's an audio translator program that we use when I really need to get details.

Scott Webb: That's very cool. I just love hearing about it. And I mentioned earlier, Medicare, Medi-Cal, maybe you can take us through that. Does the clinic accept Medicare? How is Medi-Cal handled? I know that generally speaking folks are assigned a specific clinic, but I'm assuming they can go to Taylor Farms as well. So maybe you can take us through both of those.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: We accept Medicare, both the managed care plans and the straight Medicare. And that's pretty open if the patients come in. There's no special sign up. And since I've been there the longest probably, most of my patients are in that Medicare range. I've been taking care of them for 20, 30 years. And I think my oldest patient's 103,

Scott Webb: Wow.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: And she still comes in too. She loves coming in the office and the staff also has a great relationship with the patients. They know them, they make them feel welcome. And as far as Medi-Cal concern, Medi-Cal, you are assigned, but we can see patients on an emergency basis with Medi-Cal and then they're signed up with us. And if they want to, they can always switch providers if they wish. You know, they can sign up to come to our clinic. And also as a rural health clinic designation, it really is to help us take care of Medi-Cal and Medicare patients, because sometimes the reimbursements are low and sometimes some doctors don't even take those patients. And so at least they have a place to come to.

Scott Webb: Yeah, they absolutely do. And I'm assuming that immigration status is not a factor, right?

Dr. Christine Ponzio: That's not a factor. Whether they have their documentation is not an issue with us. We accept everybody.

Scott Webb: Well, you're doing such amazing work. And I love hearing about the expansion and seeing just the full range of services that you offer. And I'm so fascinated by family medicine. Just thinking about a doctor who can treat not only, you know, babies and 103-year-olds. It's really cool. As we wrap up here, doctor, just final thoughts, takeaways, what you most want folks to know about Taylor Farms Family Health and Wellness Center.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: That they're welcome to come into the clinic and that it is a family practice at heart. And we deal with the whole family, the whole individual. And with the expansion, we'll be able to take care of more of their needs. We are hoping to expand behavioral health, because I feel that is sorely needed in our area. With COVID and some of the uncertainties, it's been a very stressful time for many families and their children. And we want to be able to provide the care that they need and the attention that they need. And I feel that we have a personal touch with patients, and that is a very important thing that I want to continue to cultivate in this clinic and in the expansion.

Scott Webb: Well, you're certainly doing your part and it's just such a cool story, that, you know, you're this hometown doctor, right? You grew up there, became a doctor, serving your community, taking it through this transition with SVMHS and then, you know, expansion. It's just such a great story. I'm so glad to have spoken with you today, share this with listeners. So, thanks so much and you stay well.

Dr. Christine Ponzio: Okay. You too. Thank you.

Scott Webb: Call 831-675-6301. That's 831-675-6301 to make an appointment at Taylor Farms Family Health and Wellness Center.

Host: And if you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend, neighbor or family member and subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest. This is Ask the Experts from Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well, and we'll talk again next time.