Our medical staff is committed to providing high-quality care to the community — and focused on your overall health. Learn more about who we are and what we do. Better health together begins with a connection and learning more about each other.
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- Auburn
- Downieville
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Bridgett Morris, LVN
Bridgett brings more than 10 years of experience in health care, including working in the Emergency Room at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital and in private practice.
Christina Lasich, MD
Since Dr. Lasich joined Western Sierra, the health care group is now the largest nonprofit health care provider in the region has also greatly expanded medical services, including urgent care, an on-site pharmacy and specialists.
David Narita, MD
Dr. David Narita, who provides care to adults and children, has extensive experience in primary care medicine in California and internationally. Dr. Narita is Board Certified in Family Medicine.
Donna Tully, PA
Donna Tully, a Physician Assistant, works in the Grass Valley health center in Urgent Care and Family Medicine.
Doris Royer
Doris has more than 15 years of experience counseling adults and adolescents with substance abuse disorders (SUD).
Elizabeth Miltner, DDS
Dr. Elizabeth Miltner believes accessible, affordable, quality health care is important for a healthy community.
“I’ve always been an advocate for public health,” she says. “Access to care is very important.”
Jay Patt, DC
Chiropractic treatment has become more mainstream the past few decades and is a viable option to “control pain without opiates,” he said. Chiropractic care is the “largest non-drug medical practice in the world.”
Jennifer Hays, DMD
Dr. Hays was awarded a Doctorate in Dental Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010 and a Bachelor of Science from UC Davis.
Juan Alberto Chavez, DDS
Being very health conscious, Dr. Chavez likes to help patients in their quest to keep good oral habits in order to maintain healthy gums and teeth. He has participated in various medical/dental events throughout the country as a volunteer dentist and continues to do so.
Justin Pfaffinger, DDS
Dr. “Justin” received his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the UCLA School of Dentistry in 2009, graduating with highest clinical honors.
Kelly Miner-Gann, LCSW
Miner-Gann has worked in behavioral health for more than a decade and knows that trauma is often at the center of the problem. Child abuse, sexual abuse or domestic violence, each can have a dramatic and far-reaching impact on the mental – and physical – health of patients.
Kirsten George, PA
Kirsten George handles the health care needs of newborns to seniors. She joined Western Sierra in 2015.
Lora Lee Grutkowski, FNP
Lora Lee is a Family Nurse Practitioner and medical and emergency care provider at the Downieville site clinic.
Michael Curtis, MD
Michael E. Curtis, MD received his advanced training from the University of Pittsburg Medical School in 1983 and participated in the Residency Training Pediatrician program at the Naval Hospital San Diego.
Michael Darius, PA
He has practiced medicine – and gained some valuable experience – in Arizona, Oklahoma and South Dakota. He has also worked at Peach Tree Health Clinic serving Sacramento, Sutter and Yuba counties, and was most recently with Med7 Urgent Care in Roseville, until he joined WSMC in 2019.
Monte Penner, MD
“Our goal is to provide quality timely care to diminish the need for utilizing the ER or hospital”, says Dr. Penner, Urgent Care Specialist for Western Sierra in Grass Valley. “I still see life-threatening emergencies requiring ambulance transport to the ER, and that keeps me vigilant”.
Polly Conley, PNP
Polly joins Western Sierra from 14 years of private practice in Roseville. She has a Masters in Pediatrics from University of California, San Francisco and she received her BSN from Brigham Young University.
Sarah Boyett, LCSW
Sarah is a Licensed Clinical Social worker who has over 8 years of experience working in the Community Mental Health field. She specializes in working …
Sarah Woerner, MD
“Dr. Sarah” grew up in Nevada City, has been a practicing pediatrician since 1982 and speaks fluent Spanish.
Susan Shapiro, MD
Dr. Susan E. Shapiro – who has practiced medicine for more than four decades, including 20 years in Auburn – has joined Western Sierra Medical Clinic as a primary care provider.
Tetsuya Shirasuka, DDS
Dr. Tetsuya Shirasuka, D.D.S., has 30-years of experience as a dentist, providing patients of all ages with dental care in a variety of practice settings.
Trish Hartman
Patricia “Trish” Hartman provides substance abuse counseling at Western Sierra’s Placer County health centers in Auburn and Kings Beach (Tahoe).
Zarlasht Fakiri, DO
Dr. Zarlasht (Zari) Fakiri is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, specializing in adult medicine.