A new Kaiser Permanente medical center will soon open in Salinas. The 24,000 square-foot center at Boronda crossing used to be a Babies R Us, but over the last several months workers transformed it into a shiny new medical center.
Dr. Sergio Gonzalez is the Physician Leader for the new office. He did his residency and fellowship in Salinas and worked there for six years before moving to San Jose. He says it feels like coming home.
“Being back in this area is a joy,” he said. “I couldn't see better patients.”
The center is slated to open on Jan. 2. It includes a pharmacy, labs, OB-GYN and dermatology offices, and imaging services.
For urgent needs and surgical procedures, Kaiser is partnered with the Watsonville Community Hospital, which is about a 30-minute drive away.
“Our main goal — as in Kaiser — is primary or preventative care,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez will lead a staff of about 70 people, including seven to 10 rotating doctors. While other parts of Monterey County have trouble recruiting doctors because of high housing costs, Salinas has its own challenges. For example, Gonzalez would like to hire bilingual physicians.
“Five percent of the physician population is Latino,” he said. “So trying to get that is going to be difficult.”
But Gonzalez says Kaiser is an attractive work environment.
He also plans to get involved with local schools and bring in Kaiser programs that support students interested in medicine.
“I want to go out into the community, high schools, maybe give sports physicals,” he said.
Gonzalez isn’t sure yet exactly how many patients the center will see.
“This opens up to 13 zip codes in Monterey County, which we can begin to cater to and then take care of a community that's in high need,” he said.
He says he hopes this is only the beginning of Kaiser’s expansion into Monterey County.
