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Podiatry Group
Caring for Children of Children They Treated
Lourdes Bravo Navea, PA, spent the first decade of her career in the Philippines, and then Saudi Arabia, focusing on general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, before moving to the United States in 1988.
She gave birth to a son in 1990 and seven years later founded Sacramento Valley Pediatric Medical Group, where she still works to this day as a Physician Assistant, inspired by the “magic of children,” she says. “Every child is a miracle and deserves only the best of love and care at all times.”
Her son, Harrold, spent a lot of his childhood in and around the practice, so it should come as no surprise that today he is Dr. Harrold Bravo Navea. They were able to take advantage of the Hill Physicians Forgivable Loan Program when the time came for Dr. Navea to join the practice. He partners with his mother, three other doctors and a team of clinicians, to serve the latest generation of children in the Elk Grove and Sacramento communities.
The practice joined Hill Physicians Medical Group in 1997. In 2014, Lourdes opened a second location in Elk Grove. The practice now serves more than 6,000 Hill Physicians patients and provides critical access role for Hill Physicians’ Medi-Cal patients.
Lourdes says many of today’s patients are the children of children she cared for nearly three decades ago.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be trusted to care for them and their families, from one generation to the next,” said Lourdes.
Her son agreed.
“It’s not always easy to work side by side with your mother because you never truly put the work away, but the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks,” he said with a quick smile. “She set a brilliant example of how to be kind, caring, compassionate, tough and thorough,” he said.
Dad’s Love of Medicine Inspires Family
About 20 years ago, Hill Physicians’ Annual Report included a photo of Raissa Marasigan Hill, D.O., reading to her children in an exam room in her Stockton office, in a space converted into a makeshift nursery.
Today those youngsters, then 5 and 2, are both focused on medical careers, which apparently runs in the family. Raissa’s daughter Elise is a medical assistant who works in the office, and her son Rhett just finished his first year in medical school.
Their father, Erik, an attorney who also serves as the group’s practice administrator, said his father-in-law, Rene Marasigan, got the ball rolling early, making it clear to his young daughter how cool it was to be a doctor.
Dr. Marasigan started his pediatric practice in the 1970s and invited Raissa to join him after she finished her residency at San Joaquin General Hospital.
They converted a glorified storage closet into three exam rooms and a bathroom, before moving into a bigger space, she recalled, noting her rent was $1 a square foot per month — $200.
HT Family Physicians joined the Hill Physicians network in 2004 and never looked back.
“Hill Physicians has allowed us to really up our game technologically, with HillChart, MyChart, Cozeva, and now Abridge AI scribing,” said Erik. “Hats off to HPMG!”
Raissa’s sister, Richelle Marasigan, D.O., joined the family practice after her residency. And when she and her husband Christopher Russo – also a doctor – started having children, the Hill family helped set up another office nursery.
Eventually, HT Family Physicians opened a second office in Lodi and today the sisters crisscross paths, caring for patients in both communities. The practice has grown, and they’ve even added some non-family doctors to the mix.
“We had to,” joked Erik. “Otherwise, family vacations would be out of the question.”
Father-Daughter Duo a Perfect Blend for Women’s Health
Ziyad Hannon, M.D., started private practice in 1984, opening Lakeside OB/GYN and Fertility in 1987. While serving on a medical group board for St. Mary’s Hospital, he recognized that times were changing, and that doctors needed help with administration and health plan negotiations. He voted for the group to join Hill Physicians and has no regrets.
“They’ve done a marvelous job,” he said. “There’s no comparison to any other group in the city.”
In 2014, he was pleased that his daughter Monica Hannon, M.D., decided to join the practice. It wasn’t always the plan to join her father, but she ultimately realized “OB/GYN was the perfect choice for me. I am very passionate about women’s health, patient education and continuity of care. I want to get to know each of my patients.”
Between the two of them, they have delivered more than 4,000 brand new San Francisco natives. (His record was five in one day; her record was eight in a 12-hour shift during residency at the George Washington University.) The pair just recently decided to stop performing deliveries, so they can expand their gynecology care.
For years, Monica’s mother, Yolanda, supported their practice as the office manager. Monica’s sister, Leah, also has a career in medicine and is completing her residency as a primary care physician.
“When we all get together for dinner, it’s like a medical convention,” said Ziyad with a chuckle.
The sense of family at Lakeside OB/GYN goes beyond the Hannons to include the front desk team and clinical staff, they say. Add to that the families that the practice has served for generations.
“My father has delivered babies who are now grown up and seeing us for treatment. We have delivered babies from the babies he delivered. It’s an honor for us to care for the daughter, mother, grandmother, sister or roommate,” Monica said. “It’s all family to us.”
Twins Follow Father’s Footsteps
You might think the Wright brothers’ path to podiatry was preordained. Their father, Howard, started the practice in the 1950s; their mother managed the front desk. And growing up, the boys – identical twins – wore the same style of clothing, the same haircuts and shared hobbies, such as Boy Scouting and getting into mischief.
But it didn’t unfold that neatly.
They joined the U.S. Navy Reserve together but went off in different directions. Dale completed six years in the Reserve while completing medical school before joining his father’s practice. Randy, who finished with 11 years in the Reserve, studied physics before switching to podiatry school. He joined the practice three years later in Alameda, not far from where he grew up.
“I think our parents were really happy,” Randy said. “We were all together again, working out of the same office.”
The Wright brothers (literally related to The Wright Brothers, according to their mom) were making house calls and that’s how they connected to Hill Physicians, which was looking to add a podiatrist to the network, especially one that would make house calls.
About 25 years ago, Hill Physicians invited Randy to become part of the network. “I said, ‘Hey, how about my brother?’” recalls Randy. “Soon, we were both part of the Hill Physicians network,” which allowed the practice to grow. Both brothers are consistent attendees at Hill Physicians’ Annual Town Hall where they enjoy connecting with colleagues and learning about HPMG’s programs.
The brothers are now in their 70s, still working full-time in the office. When retirement comes up, their answer is the same: Not now, and not alone. It will be a joint decision.
But they’re not in a hurry. Their father worked until he was 88, Dale points out.
Randy just grins. “I will retire Dec. 31,” he says. “I just haven’t decided which year.”
