Dr. Albert Arteaga circa 1995, when La Salle Medical Associates had been open for a little more than a decade.
Dr. Albert Arteaga recently. He is the founder and president of LaSalle Medical Associates, which recently celebrated 25 years in practice.
LaSalle Medical Associates is one of the top enrollers in the state in the Healthy Families program, which makes health care affordable for children in low and moderate income families. One of the ways LaSalle made people aware of this program is by having employees stand in front of the clinics in costume, as these two women are doing in front of the Mt. Vernon clinic in San Bernardino.
The San Bernardino County Medical Society recognized Dr. Albert Arteaga for outstanding contributions to the community.
Dr. Albert Arteaga, and his wife Maria, with an award he received from the San Bernardino County Medical Society for outstanding contributions to the community.
La Salle Medical Associates held a health fair at its Fontana office, which opened in 1984 as the first in the LaSalle Medical Associates clinics.(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) On the first day, owner Dr. Albert Arteaga and his wife Maria, then employed as his nurse and still his chief assistant, saw two patients at their clinic in Fontana. Today, La Salle Medical Associates has grown to four clinics and 120 employees, and an Independent Practice Association (IPA) serving more than 100 doctors.
La Salle Medical Associates celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, having seen its first two patients on June 13, 1984.
“I think 25 years shows we have been doing a good thing, and we have been doing it for a long time,” Dr. Arteaga said. “It proves two things. Number One, we are honest. Number two we are reliable. We aren’t here today and gone tomorrow. In the medical field, being solid means being reputable and reliable.”
Dr. Arteaga has built his practice with a philosophy that everyone deserves quality health care, and to be treated by his or her physician with dignity and respect. La Salle Medical Associate clinics welcome low income, elderly and disabled patients. They accept most insurance.
As founder and CEO of LaSalle’s four Inland Empire clinics, Dr. Arteaga set out to not just aid those in need, but to change patients’ perception of “going to the doctor.” He explains, “I want everyone to feel that going to the doctor is no more intimidating than going to the grocery store.”
A recent survey of nearly 300 LaSalle patients showed that fully 100 percent of those surveyed believed their doctor and other staff had listened carefully, explained things and treated them with respect.
In his 25 years in business, Dr. Arteaga has strived not only to be a great physician, but also a good businessman. Treating patients (customers) with respect helped him build a solid customer base, who in turn has recommended LaSalle Medical Associates to their friends and family, and some of who now have chosen LaSalle for their health care needs for three generations.
Dr. Arteaga has also focused on keeping expenses low. And he has helped many patients who might otherwise struggle to pay for even basic medical care to find insurance that will foot the bill.
Since Dr. Arteaga’s practice was pediatrics, La Salle Medical Associates initially focused on serving children of the lower income and disabled. Dr Arteaga quickly realized there were even greater community needs.
With his guidance, LaSalle expanded its service to include family and internal medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology. All stemming from Arteaga’s “obligation to “help whenever I can.”
Public and professional recognition has not escaped LaSalle Medical Associates and Dr. Arteaga. Earlier this year the California Medical Association awarded him the “Ethnic Physician’s Leadership Award for 2008,” recognizing his contributions to medical care in the Latino community. He also was named one of the top 15 Latino-owned businesses in the Inland Empire by Hispanic Lifestyle magazine.
For his efforts to provide healthcare services to the Inland Empire’s children, Arteaga was awarded the San Bernardino County Medical Society’s Merlin Hendrickson M.D. Award for his outstanding contribution to the community.
Inland Empire Health Plan selected the clinics as Riverside and San Bernardino counties’ best healthcare provider, while the African American Health Initiative selected LaSalle as a “model provider” of Black healthcare in San Bernardino County.
The San Bernardino Board of Supervisors has presented Dr. Arteaga the Resolution Award for his outstanding community efforts, and the Inland Empire Health Plan awarded LaSalle Medical Associates a Proclamation Award in appreciation of outstanding community work and for being the state’s number one enroller of the Healthy Families program, an insurance plan for children of low- to middle-income families.
The LaSalle Medical Associates clinics are at 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana, 1505 West 17th St. and 565 N. Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino, and 16455 Main St. in Hesperia
For additional information about LaSalle Medical Associates, call (909) 890-0407 or go on line to lasallemedical.com.
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