Vista, CA – Vista Community Clinic (VCC) is proud to share that their own Deysi Merino-Gonzalez, VCC Program Manager for Migrant Health and Outreach has been honored as the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Kugel & Zuroweste Health Justice Award. This recognition acknowledges emerging healthcare professionals who are making a difference in the overlapping areas of vulnerability, migration, and health. The award is inspired and named after Candace Kugel, FNP, CNM, MS, former Specialist of Clinical Systems and Women’s Health, and Ed Zuroweste, MD, Founding Medical Director.
Deysi joined VCC in 2020, during the largest peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since then, she has played a key role in increasing access to healthcare and resources for the migrant and farmworker communities. Her efforts with VCC’s Migrant Health and Outreach team have strengthened partnerships and collaborative efforts to address health disparities. Her valuable insights come from her firsthand experience working alongside her parents as a farmworker and assisting them navigate resources.
VCC is proud to have Deysi as a vital part of its Migrant Health and Outreach team. Her dedication to public health and compassion shines through in everything she does, both within and outside of VCC. Her ongoing contributions are certain to positively impact the lives of many. Congratulations, to Deysi on this well-earned acknowledgment, and to the meaningful work she will continue to achieve!
About Vista Community Clinic
With twelve state-of-the-art locations in North San Diego, Orange, and Riverside Counties, VCC provides affordable, high-quality health care to more than 70,000 community residents. Services offered by VCC include primary care, pediatrics, prenatal and women’s health, optometry, chiropractic care, dental health, podiatry, acupuncture, and behavioral health services. VCC also offers a wide array of community health education programs, which are free and open to all community residents. VCC is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 (highest) Patient-Centered Medical Home, and is the recipient of the HRSA National Quality Leader Seal for exceeding national clinical quality benchmarks. For more information call 760.631.5000 or visit www.vcc.org.
