Indian Valley Health expanding
More medical health care services expected to be offered when the building is finished in early 2021
Northern Valley Indian Health has announced plans to construct a new medical clinic on Gibson Road in Woodland, expanding its services.
When complete in the spring of 2021, the 20,000-square-foot facility will provide medical, behavioral and community health services, according to Inder Wadhwa, chief executive officer of Northern Valley Indian Health. Once completed, the clinic will have 14 medical exam rooms, a telehealth room, and behavioral health and administrative offices with room for future expansion.
The clinic will be located in the former Burlington Coat Factory portion of County Fair Mall, which is on the northeast side of the mall, which years ago was occupied by Target.
The new $3.7 million facility will be built by Slater & Son, which has had some crews on site recently prepping the facility for more work once the designs and building permits have been processed by the city.
Plans for the project have been submitted to the Woodland Building Department for review and approval. Once approved, construction is expected to begin this fall and be completed in the spring of 2021.
“We are eager to begin construction on this exciting project,” said Wadhwa. “Next year (2021) marks 50 years of business for NVIH and we are proud to have the ability to expand our healthcare coverage as we continue to provide quality services to all members of our community.”
The new location on Gibson Road will be the second Northern Valley Indian Health clinic located in Woodland. The West Court Street clinic will continue to provide dental services with plans to expand in future.
Wadhwa reported the existing West Court Street clinic, which was established in 2012, is around 16,000 square feet in size and has two medical providers, five dental providers, four providers of behavioral health services. Last year, he indicated, there were 3,320 people seeking medical services, 10,735 who needed dental care, and 2,676 more in need of behavioral health care.
The new healthcare clinic will serve existing patients while also accepting new patients.
At 20,000 square feet, the new clinic will allow for expanded services by offering 14 medical exam rooms, and an isolation room for patients with infectious diseases, a telehealth room, about seven behavioral health offices and administrative officers.
The total building size is about 85,000 square feet, Wadhwa has indicated, which means the remaining space will be open for future expansion of the clinic.
There will also be an upgrade to the site itself, such as a covered drop-off area at the entrance to the clinic, new landscaping, remodeled exterior, as well as ADA accessible parking and the repair of damaged pavement and curbs, along with additional lighting.
Wadhwa anticipates that the new clinic will allow the organization to provide several competitive career opportunities in addition to serving patients. In 2019, the existing clinic served more than 16,500 people.
Since 1971, Northern Valley Indian Health has grown steadily to meet the growing needs of the communities that it serves. Last year, Northern Valley provided 129,613 patient visits at its healthcare clinics in Woodland, Chico, Red Bluff and Willows.
Northern Valley Indian Health consists of a consortium of tribes: the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, the Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation of California and Kletsel Dehe Tribe of California.
The purpose of Northern Valley Indian Health was to establish a private, nonprofit tribal corporation seeking to reestablish health services for Native Americans in California. Today, the health centers continue to focus agency efforts on establishing and maintaining an effective and efficient healthcare system for California natives and the general public through medical, dental, and pediatric services.