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Our physicians

Ochna Health

The inspiration for the name Ochna came from the flower of Tet, “Hoa Mai”. Literally, it means the flower of tomorrow, signaling a new start, a new beginning. I truly believe this is the new beginning for all of us, both patients and physicians. Our primary focus is you, the patient, and not the insurance companies or the government. It is like having a doctor in your family.

Dr. Chau Nguyen, DO, MBA

Upon his graduation from the University of California, Los Angeles, he worked in the radiation field prior to starting medical school at the A.T. Still University of Health Sciences Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri. The osteopathic principle of caring for the whole patient resonated well with him, leading him to a career in preventive care and family medicine. After completion of his training in Family Medicine at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha in 2005, he was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas with the United States Air Force. He deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007. At the end of his tour in 2008, he joined Baylor Scott & White Health in Pflugerville, Texas where he practiced until the formation of Ochna Health.

Through his almost twenty years of practicing Family Medicine, he has helped many patients get well, but found it more rewarding to help patients stay well. He wants to focus more on health care versus sick care as currently the preferred mode of health care delivery in the United States. It pains him to see patients pay a large amount to the insurance company, yet struggle to get care due to high deductibles. Some could not even afford insurance altogether. Despite spending the most money on “health care”, the United States lags behind most of the Western world in most health metrics. We have the most technologically-advanced and specialist-heavy system that is well suited for sick care but fares poorly in primary care. In forming Ochna Health, he seeks innovative ways to provide access to timely, high-quality, comprehensive, and personalized primary care to all.

Dr. Nguyen was voted as an Austin Top Doctor in 2019 and 2020.

Dr. Katherine Vega, MD

After her graduation from the University of California, Davis, Dr. Vega moved to Pennsylvania to study medicine at the Drexel University College of Medicine. She then returned home to California to pursue her passion in Family Medicine at the San Jose O’Connor Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, where she graduated from in 2008. After a 4-year career at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Palo Alto, California, she moved to Texas and joined Baylor Scott & White Health shortly after.

Excited by the Direct Primary Care model, she joined Ochna Health in September 2018, and we are excited to have her at the clinic. The setting allows her to truly care for her patients without worrying about administrative burdens or restrictions. No longer just focusing on sick care, she can now fully practice preventive care, the hallmark of Family Medicine. Her aims are to get you well, and keep you well. Fluent in Spanish, she is excited to be able to deliver her care to Spanish-speaking patients who find their health care options limited in the traditional health system.

Dr. Christie Shen, MD

Dr. Christie Shen prides herself on being a Central Texas local. Born in Austin, she grew up in Pflugerville, Texas, graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, and then moved to Dallas, Texas, to complete her medical studies at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She completed her residency at San Jose O’Connor Hospital Family Medicine program at the same time as Dr. Katherine Vega.

After residency, Dr. Shen became a faculty member in the program while also practicing in the same group. In 2011, she moved back to Central Texas in 2011 and joined Scott and White in Temple, practicing family medicine and teaching at the family medicine residency program. Her professional journey continued at the Williamson County and Cities Health District where she was the medical director and faculty member with the local preventive medicine residency for two years. She then returned to clinical practice at Baylor Scott and White in Round Rock for 5 years where she was also a faculty member. For the last couple years, she has been spending more time with her family while working at Crossover Health in Austin, Texas.

After just over 15 years of practice, she still greatly enjoys taking care of patients and looks forward to partnering with her patients on their journey towards the best health possible. Dr. Shen is very excited that the Direct Primary Care setting will finally allow her to spend more time with her patients to understand their health, and help her patients get better and stay well.

In addition to English, Dr. Shen also speaks limited Mandarin and Cantonese.

Our Staff

Susan Olson, Health Coach

After working for decades as a dietician, and lactation consultant, she joined Ochna Health in May 2023 to continue to do what she does best: to help patients making the changes that they want to make in the ways that they want to make them. With her expertise in behavioral changes, she looks forward to being your partner in your journey to better health.

She lives with her family in Leander, TX.

Christal Albert, MA

Born and Raised in Killeen Texas, Christal lived there her whole life until her move to Pflugerville in 2010. She earned an Associates Degree in Health Information Management Program from Central Texas College in Killeen, and is currently finishing up her Medical Assistant program at Austin Community College (ACC).

Christal is married to her husband Jermaine since 2003. They have 4 crazy boys: TJ who lives in Alabama, Marcus who is an ACC student, Adrian who is a college student, and Jayden who is in middle school.

Her hobbies are reading, online shopping (Jermaine hates this one), coloring with my adult coloring books, watching University of Texas football (yelling at the TV basically) with her momma, and spending time with family.

Christal loves music, all genres, from R&B to Country. “I cannot do anything whether its working or cleaning without listening to music”, she said. She is also a big reader. She used to love a real book but has found it much easier now to read on the Kindle. She loves the University of Texas, Texas Football and wearing her burnt orange gears. A huge Harry Potter Fan, she has read and re-read the series’ books and movies.

Something few people know about her: She has done a couple of marathons but her favorite one was based upon the TV show Wipeout. She got knocked off the beams by the big red balls.

Stormy Scarbrough, MA

Stormy moved to Central Texas in 2020. She started her career at Ochna Health in 2021 as the receptionist, and quickly realized she was passionate about more direct patient care. She attended, and graduated from Austin Community College in January 2023 from the Medical Assistant program.

Born and raised in Midland, TX, she has now really enjoyed the city of Georgetown and all it has to offer. She and her husband have been married now for 2 years. Together they have three beautiful daughters who keep them busy with extracurricular activities such as band, volleyball, arts, cheer, and tumbling.

Her hobbies include exercising, spending time outdoors, and trying new restaurants on date nights.

Something few people know about her: she enjoyes horror films, crime scene reality shows, and documentaries.

Paolo De La Cruz, Assistant

A physical therapist by training, Paolo takes care of his patients during the day, and works from home in the Phillipines to assist us with all administrative tasks. We are glad to have him with us.