Salinas Valley Health’s Salinas Valley Health Taylor Farms Family Health & Wellness Center Triples in Size

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843

SALINAS, CA, November 5, 2020 –The expansion of a rural healthcare clinic in Monterey County takes on new meaning amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the center triples in size to offer additional medical services to underserved communities in the area. Salinas Valley Health orchestrated the significant expansion of its Salinas Valley Health Taylor Farms Family Health & Wellness Center (TFFH&WC) in Gonzales as a way to help address disparities in access to quality healthcare.

“Since this center opened five years ago, it has been a model for delivering quality care in rural environments,” says Pete Delgado, President/CEO of Salinas Valley Health. “The success of this expansion is due in large part to organizations who partnered with us and are equally dedicated to increasing access to care.”

The two-year long project provides a seamless expansion of TFFH&WC, which originally opened in November 2015 with the support of a one million dollar grant from Taylor Farms. The 6,400 square foot building has tripled in size to nearly 20,000 square feet and Taylor Farms once again took a leadership role in the effort.

“Taylor Farms is pleased to provide an additional $1.5 Million grant to support this successful project. “ said Taylor Farms Chairman and CEO Bruce Taylor. “We are delighted to honor and support our Taylor Farms teammates, their families and the surrounding community.”

To date, philanthropic support has grown to 8 million dollars including a $2.5 million dollar grant from Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance), $625,000 from Monterey Peninsula Foundation, support from Mike and Mary Orradre, and contributions from anonymous, loyal and new donors to Salinas Valley Health Foundation.

“The Alliance’s vision is Healthy People, Healthy Communities. We make strides towards realizing this vision through collaborations with local partners like Salinas Valley Health,” said Stephanie Sonnenshine, CEO of the Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance). “We are proud to support the new specialty clinic at Salinas Valley Health Taylor Farms Family Health & Wellness Center, which will increase access to crucial behavioral health and specialty services for our members in south Monterey County. This new center not only provides convenient access to important services for our members who live in Gonzales and the surrounding communities, but also provides health education and fitness programming that will improve our members’ health and quality of life.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified public health vulnerabilities nationwide in underserved communities and the expansion of Salinas Valley Health's clinic builds on a commitment by Salinas Valley Health to increase care in underrepresented populations. In January of 2019, the Salinas Valley Health Foundation and other donors also helped launch a Salinas Valley Health Mobile Clinic to deliver basic medical services directly to low-income neighborhoods at no cost to patients.

The expanded Gonzales Center gives residents in south Monterey County access to new specialty care services with trusted providers affiliated with Salinas Valley Health Clinics and Salinas Valley Health. Podiatry, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, OB/GYN – women’s health, behavioral health and diabetes education are just some of the additional health care resources.

The Center has already begun to offer important new preventive care classes and workshops such as a Diabetes Prevention course. When safe and appropriate, the Center will offer free fitness classes and other community education programing through multi use conference room space and a demonstration kitchen. Last month, TFFH&WC was the site of a free community flu clinic in partnership with the Monterey County Health Department. Volunteer nurses and Hartnell college nursing students provided 569 free flu shots to families during the three-hour event.

Several dignitaries will take part in a small, socially distanced ribbon cutting ceremony planned for Saturday, November 7 at 2pm. The public is invited to attend via a live Facebook event.

From left to right is Bruce Taylor, CEO Taylor Farms, Pete Delgado, President/CEO Salinas Valley Health, Dr. Christine Ponzio, TFFH&WC Medical Director, Salinas Valley Health Board members Regina Gage, Joel Hernandez Laguna, Victor Rey and far right, Jeff Wardwell, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Salinas Valley Health Foundation