LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc | Celebrating 40 Years
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc has been recognized by Hispanic Lifestyle as one of the Top Latino Owned Businesses in the Inland Empire.
Albert Arteaga, M.D, gets asked two questions all the time by all kinds of people: Am I going to retire and is LaSalle Medical for sale? As the company looks forward to celebrating its 40th anniversary in June, the answer is “No,” says Dr. Arteaga founder and president of LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. “We are the largest private, Hispanic-owned healthcare organization in the Inland Empire, and we are growing. Why would I want to stop?”
Dr. Arteaga opened his first solo practice with his wife Maria in Fontana in May 1984, after completing his pediatric residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Funding for LaSalle came from Operation Second Chance, a Small Business Administration program created to train people of color and fund business start-ups, led by civil rights pioneer Francis Grice.
From that humble beginning, LaSalle has grown, adding facilities and a network of specialists, to the point where today there are five open clinics, two in San Bernardino and one each in Fontana, Hesperia, and Rialto, with plans to reopen the Victorville location that had to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. The practice employs more than 110 healthcare professionals.
“I would say that our crowning achievement is our emphasis on outreach, getting people to come in for regular checkups that focus on prevention,” says Dr. Arteaga. “Treating people who suffer from illness is fine, but being able to spot warning signs in advance and ensuring that patients don’t need to undergo more intensive and lengthy treatment is LaSalle’s priority.”
In 1995 Dr. Arteaga established the LaSalle Independent Practice Association (IPA), “…a business entity organized and owned by a network of independent physician practices.”
Today, the LaSalle IPA includes members in Southern California’s San Bernardino, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties, as well as Fresno, Kings, Madera, and Tulare counties in Central California. The LaSalle IPA serves more than 360,000 patients statewide.
Dr. Arteaga goes on to say, “We recently changed our healthcare management services provider, hired a new CEO, Duane Whittington, eight months ago, and just added a brand new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Bryan Foster. They both left one of the Inland Empire’s biggest healthcare organizations to come to work for us at LaSalle.
“Duane and Bryan have relieved me of a lot of administrative responsibilities and freed me up to focus on future growth prospects.”
LaSalle’s expansion plans include growing the IPA. “Our Independent Practice Association helps doctors focus on treating their patients while we do the paperwork and negotiate contracts with insurance companies, and companies that provide medical services including imaging, blood testing, and other services. We make it easier for doctors to be doctors,” said Dr. Arteaga.
The IPA is expanding the number of doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants for current and future locations. “If you are looking for a career serving patients with The Gold Standard of Care, LaSalle is looking for you,” said Dr. Arteaga, who is also looking to grow the number of clinics through mergers and acquisitions.
Selling or retiring is not an option for Arteaga. “Most retirees go ahead and retire for one of two reasons—they’re either tired or there’s something else they want to do. In my case, neither of those apply. So, is LaSalle for sale? My answer is no!”
About LaSalle Medical Associates
LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. is one of the largest independent and Latino-owned healthcare companies in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The corporate office is in Redlands.
LaSalle is also an Independent Practice Association (IPA) of independently contracted doctors, hospitals, and clinics, delivering high-quality patient care to more than 350,000 patients in Fresno, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Riverside, San Bernardino and Tulare counties.
Article submitted by Carl Dameron
