AnnOunCEMEnTS

By Amy Collier Carroll / Golden Valley Health Centers Vice-President & Chief Communications Officer

Golden Valley Health Centers (GVHC) proudly names Dr. Eduardo Villarama to the position of VP & Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Villarama joined GVHC in July, 2007 as a family physician in Merced. Five years later, he was named Associate Medical Director where he served as the Merced area Hospitalist/Medical Director from 2013 to 2015.

He later transitioned into the role of Regional Medical Director. In the Spring of 2022, he was appointed as the Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Golden Valley Health Centers. His passion for our patients and unwavering commitment to GVHC’s mission are commendable. As the organization focuses on serving as the provider of choice for the Central Valley region, Dr. Villarama will lead the charge in ensuring a quality patient experience for all.

Amy Collier Carroll was recently appointed VP & Chief Communications Officer of Golden Valley Health Centers (GVHC). After working in public information and legislative affairs in the public sector, serving at the City of Modesto and Stanislaus County since 2015, Carroll looks forward to using her public relations expertise to enhance communications and outreach for GVHC, working to increase awareness, advocacy, and community support for the nonprofit community health center. Golden Valley Health Centers’ mission is to improve the health of patients by providing quality primary healthcare services to people in the community regardless of language, financial or cultural barriers. GVHC is a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center with 45 clinics across Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.

Humphreys University is a nonprofit university accredited by WASC with campuses in Modesto and Stockton. We have been in continuous service to our community since 1896. We offer certificate, associate, bachelor’s, master’s, teaching credential, and juris doctor degree programs.

OUR PROGRAMS

Accounting Business Administration Community Studies Court Reporting Criminal Justice Early Childhood Education Education Law Legal Studies Liberal Studies Multi. Subject Credential Paralegal Studies

Modesto Campus

5172 Kiernan Court Ste. D Salida, CA 95368 (209) 543-9411 www.humphreys.edu

By Amy Collier Carroll / Golden Valley Health Centers Vice-President & Chief Communications Officer

Golden Valley Health Centers’ is the first Californiabased Federally Qualified Health Center to deploy a cutting-edge Telehealth program, called TytoCare, and one of the first in the nation. The program has received funding through grants from the Federal Communications Commission and local grant maker, Legacy Health Endowment. The pilot program will launch in 2022.

"Legacy Health Endowment is honored to partner with Golden Valley Health Centers to continue bringing innovative healthcare solutions to people most in need,” said Jeffrey Lewis, President & CEO of Legacy Health Endowment. “The TytoCare program will focus on those who may need some extra assistance in managing certain diseases. If successful, it could become a lifechanging way of helping people with chronic diseases," he added.

The TytoCare telehealth program offers select patients the ability to monitor their health remotely through telemedicine appointments and addresses common issues like transportation barriers which are common for many patients in Golden Valley Health Centers’ more rural service region. This pilot program will fund thirty TytoCare kits that include blood pressure cuffs, tablets, video software and equipment that enables patients to receive telemedicine services and appointments at home. The ideal patient served through this pilot program would have chronic health issues requiring frequent medical visits, such as diabetic patients.

The unique thing about the TytoCare initiative is that it allows the provider to assess the patient outside of the four walls using some of the same diagnostic tools that they would use in the clinic. It not only provides more flexibility to our patients, who may be experiencing challenges in accessing care, but it also allows providers to expand on the clinical services they provide via telehealth. “The demand for healthcare in the Central Valley far exceeds its supply,” according to Golden Valley Health Centers CEO, Tony Weber. “This can lead to long waiting periods for primary care appointments, misuse and overcrowding of emergency departments, and high hospital readmission rates. In addition, our communities and patients experience many barriers to accessing care, leading to poor health outcomes and high costs of healthcare. GVHC looks forward to addressing some of these issues through our new telehealth program.”

The first phase of the TytoCare program will begin this summer, serving about thirty patients in priority zip codes. Lessons learned through the 6-month pilot period will improve processes and inform later program expansion efforts.

Golden Valley Health Centers follows the Federal and the State regulations pertaining to the type and quality of health services provided to patients. GVHC serves individuals who might otherwise have no access healthcare. No patient is turned away because of inability to pay, cultural or language barriers. Currently GVHC operates 45 clinics serving 140,000 patients throughout the Central Valley.

BY Daniel Iniguez / Regional Director, American Medical Response – Stanislaus County

Water, Wealth, Contentment and Health are the words famously written across the historic Modesto Arch. For the first responders of American Medical Response (AMR), the last word on this famous landmark is among the most important – health.

AMR is the 911 emergency medical and interfacility transport provider for the city of Modesto and many of the communities of Stanislaus County. And the health and safety of our community have been our top priority since 1959.

We began operation in Modesto under the name Modesto/Ceres Ambulance, and while our operation has changed names over the years, our ideals have always remained the same – providing care to the world at a moment’s notice.

Our operation is staffed round-the-clock by teams of highly trained and dedicated paramedics and EMTs who use a fully equipped fleet of Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances to deliver outstanding emergency medical care. We also provide Critical Care Transport services (CCT), event medical standbys and tactical paramedics for our area SWAT team.

Whether responding to local emergencies, natural disasters, mass casualty events, a global pandemic, or any emergency in between, our teams provide safety, security and high-quality care to our community. We work with area hospitals, healthcare facilities, fire departments and law enforcement agencies and do our best to be dependable partners in patient care.

As part of the Global Medical Response family of companies, we are also fortunate to work with other GMR organizations throughout Stanislaus County, including CALSTAR Air Medical Services and the Valley Regional Emergency Communications Center.

Our goal isn’t just to be the best emergency response provider possible — we pride ourselves on giving back. Each year our team members give their time, talents and resources to causes and events that make Modesto an even better place to live. We participate in community functions like the Bike Rodeo, the Modesto Farmers Market, and the Every 15 Minutes Program, and we provide standby medical service for largeattractions and make charitable contributions and in-kind donations to community organizations.

No matter the type of assistance, everyone on our team is here for the community, even those with four legs and soft, curly coats. Our Modesto team member Daisy is also an integral part of our operations and our community events. Daisy, a 1-year-old Goldendoodle is a certified therapy dog on the GMR Therapy Dog team. She helps to bring comfort and relieve the stress of first responders and community members locally and across the country.

For the past 63 years our teams have gone above and beyond in the name of public service, safety and above all, health. Our hope is that for the next 63 years, when the residents and visitors of Modesto think of the four tenets of our famous arch, they think of AMR when they reach the last word.

By Micaela Meyer / Center for Human Services

Who is in your village? Who are your closest friends, confidants, and helping hands in times of need? Your village might comprise immediate family members, extended relatives, close friends, co-workers, and more. At Center for Human Services (CHS), we have a village of over 500,000 people–all of the Stanislaus County residents we call our neighbors and who we have sought to support for the past 52 years.

Among the programs we offer are youth and young adult shelter services, individual and group mental health counseling for all ages, and substance use disorder treatment for teens and adults. We also provide short-term education, prevention, and intervention for students, and have satellite family resource centers throughout the county that supply basic needs, counseling, and workshops in order to strengthen families.

As a people-centered agency, CHS not only focuses on the people being served, but emphasizes the role individuals can play in making these services possible. It takes a village to care for one another, and our staff, donors, and volunteers each make an essential contribution to fulfilling our mission.

You, too, have the power to help change lives and build futures in Stanislaus County. One way to do this is to sign up as a volunteer. CHS volunteers are responsible for supporting staff with filing, organizing, shortterm projects, answering phones, data entry and more. Youth Navigation Center (YNC) volunteers help staff with cleaning, cooking, organizing and leading activities for the youth, answering phones and more. Through giving your time, you can gain valuable experience while learning more about the nonprofit sector. Another way to get involved is through donating. In addition to the annual campaign and general donations, programs accept item donations from their wish lists located on our website.

Lastly, take a look at the employment opportunities at CHS to build brighter futures everyday alongside our 250 dedicated employees.

Though there is still plenty of work to be done to address youth homelessness, mental health, and substance use throughout Stanislaus County, CHS has helped to fill a variety of needs and provided opportunities for growth and healing that didn’t previously exist.

It truly does take a village to support one another in times of need, and CHS hopes to contribute to the well-being of our community by continuing to help individuals and families in the years to come.