Family medicine physician Salvador Sandoval, M.D., MPH, has been named the 2025 recipient of the California Medical Association’s (CMA) Frederick K.M. Plessner Memorial Award. The award is given each year to a California physician who demonstrates exemplary practice and ethics as a rural county practitioner.
Dr. Sandoval has spent over 45 years providing care in Merced, California, and nearby rural communities in the Central Valley. He is board-certified in Family Medicine and is recognized for his dedication to serving underserved populations.
Dr. Sandoval’s commitment to rural health began with his own experiences working alongside farm workers during his youth. “I worked in farm labor in the summers between junior high and high school, and I was interested in health care because of what I saw: people that were hardworking and also didn’t have very many services,” Dr. Sandoval said.
His focus on health equity continued through medical school, where he worked at a migrant clinic in Yuba City during the summers. This experience led him to conduct research on cardiovascular disease risk factors among male farmworkers and complete a master’s thesis comparing HIV risk factors between migrant and settled farmworkers.
Throughout his career, Dr. Sandoval has advocated for vulnerable groups by addressing issues such as migrant and farmworker health, pesticide exposure prevention, opioid overdose prevention, and care for unhoused individuals. He played an important role in advancing protections for agricultural workers against pesticides and contributed to efforts aimed at reducing opioid overdoses in the region.
Dr. Sandoval also served as Medical Director for a local respite clinic supporting patients experiencing homelessness after hospital discharge. To increase access to healthcare services, he operated Golden Valley’s Medical Outreach Mobile (MOM), delivering house calls to residents with limited access to clinics. In 1992, he was recognized as “Employee of the Year” by Merced Family Health Centers for his voluntary work with migrants and unhoused patients.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sandoval served as Merced County Public Health Officer. His leadership included using wastewater surveillance to anticipate case surges and protect public health in a region with limited resources.
“Dr. Sandoval demonstrated calm, informed leadership during an extraordinarily challenging period,” said Yamilet Valladolid, Director of Government and Community at Golden Valley Health Centers. “His guidance and policies protected countless lives and reflected his lifelong commitment to health equity, public well-being, and science-based decision-making.”
Although semi-retired, Dr. Sandoval continues mentoring future physicians through the Family Medicine Residency Program in Merced.
“Dr. Sandoval’s legacy is etched into the very fabric of rural health care in the Central Valley,” said Merced County Department of Public Health Director Kristynn Sullivan. “Titles or accolades do not define his career, but by the thousands of lives he has touched and the countless systems he has helped shape to be more equitable, compassionate, and effective. He has delivered care under bridges, on farms, in shelters, and clinics – always with humility, integrity, and a deep belief in human dignity.”
A video profile about Dr. Sandoval is available from CMA.
