Hires Dedicated Provider for the Program
September 25, 2023 – Napa, CA – OLE Health announced today that it will be expanding its mobile health program and has hired a dedicated provider, Ricardo Mendez, PA-C, to provide services on the mobile unit. OLE Health will now offer services on its Mobile Health van three days a week throughout Napa County and in Fairfield-Suisun.
“Mobile health is a critical tool to help us meet our patients where they are,” said OLE Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Teresa Shinder. “Now that we have a dedicated provider on staff, we can expand our offering and help even more people access quality health care and preventative health services.”
OLE Health launched its mobile health initiative in December 2022, focusing on individuals living in farmworker housing Up Valley with a rotating roster of OLE Health providers. Since its launch, the OLE Mobile Health program has offered services to nearly half of the farmworkers living in housing complexes in St. Helena, Calistoga, and Napa at a series of weekly clinics. With the expansion, OLE Health will continue its partnership with the Napa County Housing Authority to provide services to the farmworker housing complexes in Napa but will visit other locations and serve new populations as well.
Thanks to a $163,000 grant from Solano County, OLE Health will begin providing services to farmworkers in Fairfield and Suisun in October. In addition, OLE Health will be partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Napa Valley and the Boys and Girls Club of St. Helena and Calistoga to offer services at their facilities and rotate among other community sites, including schools and churches.
OLE Health’s dedicated mobile health provider, Ricardo Mendez, brings nearly a decade of experience to the role, including working on mobile health initiatives previously. In addition to staffing mobile health, Mendez sees patients at OLE Health’s Napa Valley Vintners South Napa Campus once a week.
OLE Mobile Health is supported by grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Solano County, and County Medical Services Program as well as a donation from Dalla Valle Vineyards.
About OLE Health
Since 1972, OLE Health has provided comprehensive care to all individuals regardless of insurance or ability to pay. OLE Health offers primary care, dental, optometry, and behavioral health services and embraces a model of care that puts the patient at the center of a dedicated team of medical providers. By emphasizing care coordination across departments, as well as referral and enrollment services, OLE Health ensures the patients’ complete health and well-being needs are met. OLE Health has seven clinics across Napa and Solano County and is the only nonprofit community health center in Napa County. OLE serves 40,000 patients annually and is the second largest provider of primary care in Napa Valley. Visit olehealth.org to learn more.
