HEALTH CENTER IN THE WORKS
Project breaks ground this week, aims to increase healthcare access
In a town meeting over 20 years ago, community members from Esparto, Madison and the Capay Valley gathered and discussed the pressing need for consistent and local medical care.
Residents of Capay Valley have long struggled to access local healthcare, citing it as the number one need in the community.
“It takes half a day to have a simple, basic health appointment,” said Cathie Wicks, co-founder of RISE, Inc. “It’s hard to stay in Esparto. Many are leaving us because they need medical or dental services or to be near a pharmacy.”
On Monday, Esparto celebrated the groundbreaking of the Capay Valley Health and Community Center, a hub for medical and social services
Through collaboration between the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Winters Healthcare, RISE, Inc. and Brown Construction, Capay Valley residents will soon have local access to much needed healthcare that includes dental, ophthalmic and pharmaceutical services.
The two-story, 28,000-square-foot building, which will be located on the corner of Yolo Avenue and County Road 21A, will also house conference rooms, public computers, leasable offices and other organizations in an attempt to expand community services.
“This is a community connection center,” said Tico Zendejas, executive director of RISE, Inc. “This is a space that we want everyone to feel comfortable. This is our community, this is our health center. This is really going to just transform our area, our rural region.”
Several years ago, with the idea of the healthcare center in mind, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation acquired the Esparto site for $850,000 with a grant funded by Doyuti T’uhkama. They also granted an additional $15 million for the project’s construction.
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors also allocated $2.5 million of ARP funding towards the new center during a meeting in September.
The American Rescue Plan is a funding stimulus plan approved by Congress that provides funding for local and state governments. Yolo County received approximately $42.8 million in funding to be used towards things like supporting public health expenditures, addressing negative economic impacts and replacing lost public sector revenue.
In the Yolo County health assessment report, under geographical locations experiencing disparities, both Esparto and Madison had several, Supervisor Angel Barajas explained. In the report, the community health index rated both towns as high.
“I saw an opportunity where my board colleagues and myself could work on these disparities through the American Rescue Plan funding that we received at the county level,” Barajas said.
Brown Construction, through its Build It Forward Program, also donated a portion of its profits and costs for the project.
Winters Healthcare, a nonprofit currently providing services out of a facility in Winters, will be the primary healthcare provider. In addition to the dental, ophthalmic and pharmaceutical services, the medical team will provide a full spectrum of primary care options including perinatal, adolescent and geriatric health
and preventative healthcare. Mental health providers will also be available and working alongside the primary care teams.
Winters Healthcare Executive Director Chris Kelsch said they will be looking for community input to structure the hours of operation and how the services will work.
The Capay Valley Health and Community Center is projected to be completed in 2022.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime to provide healthcare services directly to residents in their own backyard,” Barajas said. “This is the Yolo way and we are here to serve you.”