The Neighborhood Healthcare Valley Center clinic first opened at 28477 Lizard Rocks Rd. five years ago this month—in the midst of the pandemic. Since they opened, they have seen 33,692 patients. The number of uninsured patients they have served to date is 1,927. They are a federally qualified health center, a community clinic, and no one gets turned away. Everybody in Valley Center and other neighboring communities is welcome. The physician who was there at the beginning, Dr. Zalya Castaner, is still the lead doctor. She just returned from maternity leave with a four-month-old newborn. Previously, the clinic operated in Pauma Valley, next door to the community center. They still have many patients who come from Pauma Valley. They have, over the years, cultivated a wonderful relationship with the Pauma community and plan to bring more events to the community center in the future. They have a wonderful relationship with St. Francis Episcopal Church, whose members weekly drop off donated bags of groceries. Recently, I spoke with Dr. Castaner, the lead doctor at Neighborhood Healthcare’s Valley Center facility, and Kami Devi, Valley Center site manager.
The clinic does not function as your typical urgent care clinic, but, says Dr. Castaner, “We do have slots open at the beginning of the day to do walk-ins to treat urgent needs such as cut fingers and dog bites.” When the clinic opens at 8 a.m., there’s usually a line of five to eight patients waiting to come in and sign up. Everything begins with a check-in. During the day, they might see a 3-day-old baby, people coming in for school forms, or perform sports physicals. Everything and anything under the sun. “We are one hundred percent excited to see our patients!” says Devi. “And we don’t turn anyone away!” “Everyone is welcome,” says Dr. Castaner. “If you are in the neighborhood, you can see us. We take Medi-Cal, Medicare, people who are uninsured, and people with commercial insurance who don’t want to go downtown to Escondido. We see children, seniors, everyone.” The clinic’s statistics are impressive: There were 6,765 visits in 2024. The number of average daily visits is 29. They cared for 2,562 patients in 2024. That’s all with 11 employees, including one doctor, two nurse practitioners, one women’s clinic health provider, one RN, six medical assistants (MAs), and one registered dental hygienist.
They offer primary care, behavioral health, dental services, women’s health, prenatal, pediatrics, lab services, and enrollment services. Devi adds, “We have our own panels, our own patients, and we get to establish relationships with our patients. We see children. We have a very busy pediatric service. We see newborns, and we follow them all the way from the beginning of the pregnancy.” They also provide other women’s health services, such as breast exams, mammograms (from a trailer), cervical screening, and weight-loss support. They have a fully functioning lab (although no X-ray) that can provide pre-employment screening and vaccines. “If we need to, we can take a little biopsy off the skin,” added Devi. They are contracted with Vista Health to provide behavioral and mental health services—including a licensed social worker—for their patients, which includes adults, seniors, children, and teens. “Our patients love it!” says Devi. “Our patients just love to have everything in one place. No one here wants to drive down the grade to Escondido—and this is convenient for that reason. We get to know people really well, and it becomes like family. They don’t want to go anywhere else!” Dr. Castaner emphasizes that the best way to see her without an appointment is to come in early. “It’s a true walk-in. We have slots available every day to accommodate walk-ins. If you need to come to see me, come early in the morning so we can give you a slot for the day or that morning.” She adds, “We do try to accommodate everyone. We have a sliding fee scale. Patients can enroll right away. They just answer a couple of questions and enroll in the sliding fee or pay a co-pay.” Dr. Castaner adds, “If I could tell anyone who doesn’t know about us, I would say we are here for our neighborhood and our community. We are a one-stop shop. The plan is to continue to grow with our community. We feel that we are serving as far and as wide as we can. We’re an exceptional facility!” Far and wide isn’t an empty brag. “I have patients from Warner Springs, Julian, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, and Valley Center,” says Dr. Castaner. “We even have some people from Escondido who make the trip because they love our clinic.” Dr. Castaner talked about a “day in the life” of a clinic doctor. “I don’t stop. It could be twenty patients in a day for me. I could be seeing a three-day-old, and next I’m seeing a 90-year-old lady with leg swelling— and everything in between. We just don’t stop, and we take in walk-ins. That’s a nice variety. There are always new patients to meet.” Their RN also has her own schedule. “She sees patients for sugar reviews and to take blood pressure. I get to see those patients too,” said Dr. Castaner. On the horizon, they have plans to grow. “We are looking to expand our women’s health,” said Devi. “We have brought in a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) who functions like a therapist.” She does telehealth visits. “Our dental services have not been shared enough,” she added. “We plan to expand and have a dentist once a week.” They can also refer patients to chiropractic, acupuncture, and podiatrist services. She added, “Just as we are here for our community, we also need some things. We get a lot of help from St. Francis Episcopal Church in Pauma, but if anyone from the community would like to donate diapers— some of our patients are on a limited income.” Donations in the form of boxes of diapers are very welcome. But they can only take physical donations—not checks. They can be donated Monday-Friday. Hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about Neighborhood Healthcare Valley Center, call 833-867- 4642.
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