‘Ripon native’ takes over as medical director of Golden Valley clinics

Dr. Ellen Piernot was born and raised in Ripon, but she is a long way from her hometown as she begins her duties as chief medical officer of Golden Valley Health Centers.

Piernot grew up in Ripon, Wis., a farming community of 7,600 that has similarities to the Ripon located 12 miles north of Modesto. The Wisconsin town prides itself as the birthplace of the Republican Party.

Spring comes earlier to Ripon, Calif., which holds its Almond Blossom Festival in late February. “It’s pretty frigid (in February) and you don’t see the sun much in winter,” Piernot said of her hometown. “I’ll see plenty of sunshine here.”

Piernot began overseeing the 140-member medical staff last week at Golden Valley’s low-cost health clinics in Stanislaus and Merced counties. She replaces physicians’ assistant George Conklin, who has served as interim medical director.

“The opportunity to work at Golden Valley was too good to pass up,” Piernot said. “My philosophy is that medicine is a team sport, and GVHC has all the services under one roof to allow us to all work together as a team to get the best result for the patient.”

The new director went to medical school in Wisconsin and worked for Presbyterian Medical Services in New Mexico for seven years as a family practice physician, a physician trainer and director of primary care and health information. After leaving New Mexico, Piernot was the chief medical officer for Sunset Community Health Center in Yuma, Ariz., supervising 28 doctors and other staff members at 10 health centers.

Piernot spent time in Africa and Central America as an undergraduate college student, and that experience inspired her to focus her career on the underserved. She learned Spanish during her studies in Guatemala, and also immersed herself in the cultures of El Salvador and Belize, she said.

Golden Valley runs more than 20 safety-net clinics in the Northern San Joaquin Valley for low-income residents who otherwise would have a difficult time accessing health care.

“We’re very fortunate to have Dr. Piernot as part of our leadership,” said Tony Weber, Golden Valley’s chief executive officer. “She was highly sought after and we’re lucky she chose us.”

Golden Valley has known internal strife in the past nine months. The former medical director, Silvia Diego, was terminated in November over disagreements with the CEO.

Piernot said she will work on restoring good relations with the medical staff. She appreciated that staff members were welcoming during her first week on the job. “I feel like one thing we need to focus on is a culture of trust and a culture of patient-centeredness,” Piernot said.

Piernot said one of her strong interests is electronic health records and developing workflows and better ways to exchange information. The new director said her goal is ensuring that patients have consistent care experiences throughout Golden Valley’s 26 clinics.

She also intends to reinforce cultural competencies so that staff members are aware of the patients’ home environment. Knowing the patients’ cultural background and realities at home is essential to creating effective care plans for them, she said.

Historical note: Ripon in San Joaquin County got its name when a man from Ripon, Wis., opened a store in what was then Stanislaus City and renamed it after his birthplace in 1874.

This story was originally published June 8, 2015 at 12:43 PM with the headline "‘Ripon native’ takes over as medical director of Golden Valley clinics."