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 served Merced, California, and surrounding Central Valley communities for more than four decades. He is board-certified in Family Medicine and has focused his career on providing care to underserved populations.
His 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.
During medical school summers, he worked at a migrant clinic in Yuba City, which influenced his research on cardiovascular disease risk factors among male farmworkers and HIV risk factors comparing migrant with settled farmworkers.
Throughout his career, Dr. Sandoval has advocated for vulnerable groups by addressing issues such as migrant health, pesticide exposure prevention, opiate overdose prevention, and care for unhoused individuals. He played a significant role in improving protections against pesticides for agricultural workers and led efforts to prevent opioid overdoses in the region.
He also served as Medical Director at a local respite clinic for patients experiencing homelessness and operated Golden Valley’s Medical Outreach Mobile services to reach residents unable to access traditional clinics. In 1992, Merced Family Health Centers recognized him as “Employee of the Year” for voluntary service and outreach work with migrants and unhoused patients.
As Merced County Public Health Officer during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sandoval provided guidance based on scientific evidence, including using wastewater surveillance to anticipate surges in cases—a strategy that helped protect vulnerable communities.
“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 now semi-retired, Dr. Sandoval continues teaching future physicians as a preceptor in Merced’s Family Medicine Residency Program.
“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.
