For the Community, From the Community
How AltaMed Growing our Own Translates to Better Patient Care
Dr. Jonathan Guajardo walks with a patient at the Ramona Gardens public housing development, home to one of AltaMed’s three satellite clinics embedded in public housing.
Believe it or not, Dr. Jonathan Guajardo has free time. A Family Medicine Physician at AltaMed Health Services, he splits his days between four clinics—three of which are embedded in public housing developments. He has a full roster of patients at each clinic, where he offers everything from pediatric to geriatric care, OB-GYN services, medically assisted treatment, psychiatry, and more. In that free time? He takes his coffee to go.
“I grab my coffee and go for a walk. I grew up in a community like this one, and I know some people might not feel comfortable walking around here, but these neighborhoods are safe. As I walk, I see people. I wave and say, ‘Good morning, buenos días.’ If they seem open to it, I go up, shake their hand, and introduce myself.”
Since Dr. Guajardo’s arrival at the housing clinics, patient visits have gone up notably. More than one new patient has said they came in simply because he took the time to say hello. Less than a year post-residency, Dr. Guajardo is proud to be serving his community and making a difference in his patients’ lives.
The path here was not easy.
A First-Generation Journey to Care
The night before his first medical school exam, Jonathan Guajardo couldn’t focus. His phone was buzzing with WhatsApp messages from his family hundreds of miles away in Baytown, Texas, in the direct path of Hurricane Harvey.
The house is okay.
The water is rising.
There’s four feet of water in the house.
By the next morning, the Guajardo family home had been destroyed by the storm. “That was my first year away from my family, my first year in a new school. I did not sleep that night.”
The loss had a profound impact on him. “There was a lot of guilt. I grew up in a low-income neighborhood not unlike the ones I work in today, and we moved out when I was 15 because my dad, who was a welder, saved his whole life to move us to the nice side of town. Now I’m sending my financial aid back to my parents and my brothers because they have nothing.”
Jonathan Guajardo on Match Day in 2021. He ranked AltaMed as his first choice after his interview panel responded in Spanish, naturally.
Jonathan Guajardo with his parents at graduation from University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley. He is a triple first-gen— first generation Mexican American, first generation to graduate from college, and first generation to graduate from medical school.
During medical school at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, he was accepted into UCLA’s Urban Health Fellowship, where he was first introduced to AltaMed and the Family Medicine Residency Program. At the time, the program was still in its infancy, and after his experience in a newly established medical school, he was hesitant to join another program still finding its way. But something about AltaMed felt different.
When interviewing for residency, Dr. Guajardo made a deliberate choice—he responded in Spanish. He wanted programs to know, from the start, who he was and who he intended to serve. Some interviewers switched back to English, others paused and responded in Spanish. At AltaMed, the conversation continued naturally in Spanish, as if it had never been any other way. That, along with AltaMed’s deep roots in social justice, made his decision simple.
Building Leaders in Family Medicine
Growing the next generation of compassionate care has long been a priority for AltaMed. “There has never been a greater need for primary care physicians who have been trained to work with diverse patient populations,” says Cástulo de la Rocha, President and CEO of AltaMed Health Services.
In a state where Latinos make up nearly 40% of the population, only about 6% of physicians share that background—a gap that directly impacts health outcomes in underserved communities. Programs like The AltaMed Family Medicine Residency Program are helping close that gap by training doctors who reflect the people they serve.
Built on AltaMed’s 55-year legacy of expanding access to care in diverse communities, the program provides hands-on training in a high-functioning outpatient clinic system while partnering with hospitals known for their excellence in education. Residents receive mentorship from experienced physicians, gain leadership skills, and explore specialized areas of medicine through a robust curriculum and ample elective time.
The 2024 AltaMed Family Medicine Residency and Sports Medicine Fellowship Graduation. Dr. Guajardo is in the front row, third from the right.
The program was the perfect fit for Dr. Guajardo. He quickly found himself immersed in the kind of medicine he wanted to practice—care that extends beyond the exam room and into the community. His final year of residency, he was elected Co-Chief Resident by his peers and faculty.
Post-residency, Dr. Guajardo chose to stay at AltaMed because he found a place where advocacy and medicine go hand in hand. “When we (physicians) stand up for a community, AltaMed supports us,” he says. “That’s the difference. It’s not revolutionary, but it matters—nurturing physicians who stand up for their patients because they’re given the space and support to do so. We always say the physician is the voice for the patient, but what does that really mean? Are we considering their life at home? Their finances? At AltaMed, we do. That’s why I stayed.”
Trust, Care, and the Power of Five Simple Words
For Dr. Guajardo, every patient visit begins the same way: “How can I help you?” Not, “What are you here for?” or “What’s on your chart?” Those five words reflect a deeper philosophy that recognizes each person’s lived experience and meets them with respect and care.
“If I only focus on the obvious issues—like a diabetic foot wound—I might miss the fact that they couldn’t make it to their specialist appointment because they didn’t have transportation. When I ask, ‘How can I help you?’ I get the real story. That’s where the real care begins.”
“You can’t be a community physician if you’re not involved in the community,” Dr. Guajardo says. Now, he works in what he describes as “three separate microcosms of LA,” knowing his patients not just as charts or symptoms, but as neighbors. For him, building trust is just as important as providing treatment.
“I’m not here to fix everything. I can’t cure poverty or erase trauma,” he says. “But I can listen. I can take them seriously. I can help them take the next step. That’s what I’m here for.”
“The reality is, for many patients, I might be the only one they feel like they can talk to. So I don’t get frustrated with them. I don’t judge. I know where they’re coming from, because I’ve lived it, too.”
At AltaMed, growing physicians like Dr. Guajardo means growing stronger, healthier communities. Our doctors aren’t just providers — they’re advocates, neighbors, and trusted partners in care. For the people they serve, that makes all the difference.
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