Golden Valley Health Centers’ new CEO shares plans for Modesto county clinic takeover
Golden Valley Health Centers has appointed a new top executive as the nonprofit system of clinics plays an increasing role in health care in Stanislaus County.
David Quackenbush will become chief executive May 1. He succeeds Tony Weber, who guided the Merced-based chain of safety-net clinics since 2014.
Quackenbush has been the chief strategy officer for Golden Valley since January 2023, working on plans to improve access and quality of care and enhance the culture of the organization. The planning has included development of new health center sites and services.
In Stanislaus County, Golden Valley has about 650 employees, 23 clinics and almost 100,000 patients.
“The board is very excited about what David will bring to the organization,” said John Price, board chairman for Golden Valley. “We have seen his work over the past year and have been impressed by his strategies focused on increasing organizational efficiency, expanding patient access and improving healthcare outcomes. David also brings a very collaborative approach to leadership and believes wholeheartedly in our mission, vision and core values.”
Golden Valley was thrust into the spotlight in March with a county proposal that the nonprofit assume operation of the Paradise Medical Office in west Modesto. The county Health Services Agency also proposes closing the county specialty clinic on McHenry Avenue that serves low-income residents. The expectation is that Golden Valley will take over those services including orthopedics, neurosurgery, general surgery and diabetes management.
Paradise clinic not closing, new CEO assures
The county’s Paradise clinic, a teaching site for family-practice resident physicians, has close to 10,000 patients, while the specialty clinic on McHenry has served 1,700 annually.
Quackenbush assured that the Paradise clinic will keep serving west Modesto residents if county supervisors approve the change after an April 16 public hearing.
“The clinic is not closing,” he said. “Once we can get in there, we can solidify operations and grow the services.”
The California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation has asked the county to delay action on the proposals and allow for more public discussion and input from affected community members and patients.
Quackenbush said the specialty medical services in the black-glass building on McHenry Avenue are more complicated. Golden Valley will have to negotiate agreements with each of the specialists who have been seeing patients.
Golden Valley has a clinic two floors above in the same building, providing pediatrics and optometry. “We feel confident in operating (the specialty clinic) also,” Quackenbush said.
Golden Valley became a supporter in 2022 of the Valley Consortium for Medical Education, which has a three-year family medicine residency, training 12 new doctors per annual class. VCME also has an orthopedic surgery training program.
Quackenbush said Golden Valley has clinical staff on the faculty of the family medicine residency in hopes the program will “survive and thrive” and supply physicians for health centers in the Central Valley. Under the county’s proposal, Golden Valley medical staff and doctors contracted with the county Health Services Agency will serve as precepts for the family-practice residents at the Paradise clinic.
Plans to streamline some Turlock services
Apart from the county proposal, Golden Valley plans to streamline its pediatric services in Turlock, where it has doctors seeing young patients in suites that are not interconnected, the new CEO said.
Quackenbush has a health center background spanning 25 years. He was CEO of Central Valley Health Network when longtime Golden Valley executive leader Mike Sullivan was on the network’s board. Quackenbush served as vice president of member services for the California Primary Care Association before joining Golden Valley last year.
He said he has watched the tremendous growth of health centers for the disadvantaged, starting with the federal investments of the second George Bush administration and followed by expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility under the Affordable Care Act. Golden Valley has 47 clinics today in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
The new CEO said poverty rates have increased at the same time, along with the population eligible for California’s Medi-Cal program for low-income families and individuals.
“Health centers are doing a tremendous job trying to meet the needs of the community, but we can’t keep up,” Quackenbush said. “The provider population has not grown at the same rate.”
