Editor's note: This is the second installation of a series of spotlights on the communities selected for the 2019 RWJF prize. The 2019 winners are: Broward County, Florida; Gonzales, California; Greenville County, South Carolina; Lake County, Colorado; and Sitka, Alaska. Each of the winning communities will receive $25,000.
The Culture of Health Prize elevates the compelling stories of community members throughout the country who are working together in new ways so that everyone can live their healthiest life possible.
Emily Rios moved to Gonzales because her husband wanted to raise his own family in the town where he grew up. A transplant from the suburbs of San Diego, Rios instantly fell for the small-town appeal of her new home.
“People just step up every day to make this a better place for everyone,” says the 31-year-old mother and former music teacher.
Residents of Gonzales talk about feeling connected and take exceptional pride in the notion that anyone can be a force to improve the community. Rios describes the much-touted Gonzales Way as an “everyone-looks-out-for-everyone mentality.”
It can be a small gesture like when a local pharmacist, Jimmy Eitoku, needed a place to conduct weekly classes on managing diabetes and the city opened the doors of the City Council Chambers. “They just handed me the key and said, return it when you’re done,” says Eitoku, owner of the Gonzales Pharmacy.
Or it can be a serious challenge like addressing a shortage of healthcare providers.
In 2012, a county-led assessment of the health needs in Gonzales found that one in five people had no regular physician or clinic for preventive and routine care. At the time, Christine Ponzio was overwhelmed as the city’s sole physician and decided to merge her practice into the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.
The health system, in turn, set out to build a new wellness center, with a local employer, Taylor Farms, donating $1 million toward the $3 million cost. “It was heartening for that to happen,” Ponzio says. Gonzales now has three full-time physicians and three physician assistants.
Read more at RWJF: The ‘Gonzales Way’: A Can-Do Spirit of Collaboration
The Culture of Health Prize elevates the compelling stories of community members throughout the country who are working together in new ways so that everyone can live their healthiest life possible.
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| Pharmacy technician Imelda Lopez with
longtime owner Jimmy Eitoku at Gonzales Pharmacy. Photo credit: RWJF. |
Emily Rios moved to Gonzales because her husband wanted to raise his own family in the town where he grew up. A transplant from the suburbs of San Diego, Rios instantly fell for the small-town appeal of her new home.
“People just step up every day to make this a better place for everyone,” says the 31-year-old mother and former music teacher.
Residents of Gonzales talk about feeling connected and take exceptional pride in the notion that anyone can be a force to improve the community. Rios describes the much-touted Gonzales Way as an “everyone-looks-out-for-everyone mentality.”
It can be a small gesture like when a local pharmacist, Jimmy Eitoku, needed a place to conduct weekly classes on managing diabetes and the city opened the doors of the City Council Chambers. “They just handed me the key and said, return it when you’re done,” says Eitoku, owner of the Gonzales Pharmacy.
Or it can be a serious challenge like addressing a shortage of healthcare providers.
In 2012, a county-led assessment of the health needs in Gonzales found that one in five people had no regular physician or clinic for preventive and routine care. At the time, Christine Ponzio was overwhelmed as the city’s sole physician and decided to merge her practice into the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.
The health system, in turn, set out to build a new wellness center, with a local employer, Taylor Farms, donating $1 million toward the $3 million cost. “It was heartening for that to happen,” Ponzio says. Gonzales now has three full-time physicians and three physician assistants.
Read more at RWJF: The ‘Gonzales Way’: A Can-Do Spirit of Collaboration