Medical group celebrates 5 years in city

The Vanguard Medical Group recently celebrated five years of service with an open house which for residents, with refreshments served as well as a variety of information and gifts. Several members of the City of Shafter staff were on hand at the event, including City Council members, the city manager and other prominent business owners in town.

Headed up by Dr. Novira Sunner, administrator of the Vanguard Medical Management Co., the business was opened back in 2014 with a goal of giving the community of Shafter a better option for its personal health care.

'We wanted to give the community a service that makes the patients feel more like they are visiting a private practice, instead of going to a big corporation that doesn't give that personalized service," Sunner said.

She explained that Park put together the practice with doctors including those is worked with at National Health Services, now known as Omni Health Corp. "We wanted to form a group that would keep the community healthy while giving them the entire menu of options without having to go to a big company."

Vanguard Medical Corp. offers general practice medicine and chiropractic services. They also have an OBGYN on staff.

Tours were given to anyone who wanted to see what the facility had to offer, providing a chance to see the waiting room and examination rooms, as well as the lab.

Being a part of a small town community has been a pleasure for the group and its members, according to Sunner.

"We love the community and think that they deserve the best care available to them without losing that personal touch that we can give them."

Vanguard takes all major medical insurance, including Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Kern Family Health Care and many others. They take appointments, but they also welcome walk-ins.

Some familiar faces have been major parts of the group's growth.

They acquired the practice of Dr. Jae Kim, another longtime physician in Shafter. "Dr. Kim wanted to keep treating his patients, but didn't want to deal with the daily paperwork and business side of the practice. So, we took over this aspect of the practice, allowing Dr. Kim to concentrate on his patients without the hassle of the business side of it," commented Sunner.

Dr. Jong C. Moon,, who has served the community for 34 years, started with the group this month.

Vanguard is located on Kern Street and, in 2018, they added a location in Wasco, which offers all of the same services as the Shafter office.

The community appreciates the company and the personal care that goes into the practice. "I just love the doctors and staff here at Vanguard. I used to go to other clinics around the area, but you cant beat this place for its care and the people who work in the office," said Yolonda Murrea, who, along with her son, has been going to Vanguard for the past three years.