Kaweah Health’s Family Medicine Residency Program has moved from Visalia to Tulare, where starting today, March 6, there are more family medicine physicians seeing patients than ever before.
Kaweah Health’s Tulare Health Clinic, which already provided primary, specialty, and walk-in care, now joins forces with Kaweah Health’s Family Medicine Residency Program and the end result is more hands to help care for patients, said Ryan Gates, Kaweah Health’s Chief Population Health Officer. This is in part because the clinic now becomes a training site for the 21 family medicine residents who have completed medical school and are now receiving training in their chosen field of medicine – family medicine. Kaweah Health started its Family Medicine Residency Program in 2013.
The family medicine residency program was in need of more space to care for patients after it hired its last faculty member Dr. Daniela Rangel-Orozco, a Lindsay native and graduate of Kaweah Health’s program earlier this year. The program is designed so that the faculty can have solo-practice time where they can see patients on their own, as well as days when faculty can see patients and supervise/teach residents as they care for patients.
“This move to the Tulare Clinic, which is nearly twice the size of the Visalia location, allows faculty members to see more patients on their own. It is also a much better opportunity for residents to work alongside specialists practicing in Tulare as they care for their patients,” Gates said.
There will be 21 family medicine providers caring for patients at Tulare Health Clinic under the direction of Program Director Mario Martinez, M.D. and the following family medicine faculty members:
- Stephen Zerlang, D.O.
- Magda Ramirez, M.D.
- Mariam Bassali, M.D.
- Daniela Rangel-Orozco, M.D.
- William Roach, M.D.
- Asma Tariq, M.D.
- Christopher Christiansen, M.D.
- Ravi Kumar, M.D.
Currently, the following specialists see patients at Tulare Health Clinic, with seven additional specialists coming soon:
- Cardiology: Reza Rafie, M.D.,
- Orthopedics: Jun Kim, D.O.
- Podiatry: Tyler May, DPM
- Nephrology: Tariq Javed, M.D.
- Endocrinology: Ranjindrpal S. Chahal, M.D.
- Vascular Surgery: Joyce Lu, M.D. and Lamar Mack, M.D.
- Therapy: Leslie Mudaheranwa, ASW
There are many benefits to choosing a primary care physician at Kaweah Health, Gates said. “When you choose to entrust your care with a Kaweah Health primary care physician, you’re not just gaining access to a compassionate world-class physician, you are gaining access to all the comprehensive programs and services Kaweah Health offers to you and our community,” he said.
The 10,800-square-foot clinic opened in April 2021 and is located in the former IRS building on the corner of Prosperity Avenue and North Mooney Boulevard. It has 18 exam rooms, 2 procedure rooms, a lab onsite for patients, and three behavioral health rooms for therapy, psychiatry and eventually, child psychiatry. The clinic is located at 1000 N. Mooney Boulevard in Tulare, just 7 miles from the current Visalia location. Free transportation is available for patients to the clinic, which offers same-day, walk-in services and lab draws for clinic patients. The clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Appointments can be requested online at www.kaweahhealth.org/tulare or by calling or texting 559-685-7100.
Kaweah Health is a publicly-owned community healthcare organization that provides comprehensive health services to the greater Visalia region and Tulare County. With more than 5,000 employees and 700 medical staff, Kaweah Health is committed to meeting the community’s health needs through state-of-the-art medicine, high-quality preventive services and specialized health centers and clinics. For more information, visit www.kaweahhealth.org or follow Kaweah Health on Twitter and Facebook.