New Community Health Center Breaks Ground in NorCal
By HCO Staff
PLACERVILLE, Calif.—The Neenan Company announced a new project in Placerville to design and construct El Dorado Community Health Centers’ (EDCHC) new medical clinic, which will serve residents throughout El Dorado County. Neenan joined EDCHC, the organization’s board of directors, and members of the community in celebrating the project’s groundbreaking on Thursday, April 16.
The Neenan Company begins construction after designing the 30,600-square-foot facility, which will sit on the 12-acre site at 4212 Missouri Flat Road. When complete, the new community health center will replace EDCHC’s current Placerville and Diamond Springs clinics and enable the organization to expand services. The vision is for EDCHC to deliver comprehensive health care needs – including primary care, dental, optical, pharmacy, lab services, behavioral health and addiction treatment services – in a central, easily accessible location. EDCHC anticipates the clinic to open in the spring of 2022.
“In the last decade, EDCHC has grown considerably as demand for our services has increased,” said EDCHC’s CEO Terri Stratton. “We’ve outgrown our current facilities and cannot expand our care offerings to keep pace with the growing needs of the Placerville community without a significant upgrade to our facilities. This new state-of-the-art facility gives residents convenient access to a variety of health care services and enables us to add much-needed dental and optometry care, which is not readily available now.”
The new facility will double EDCHC’s capacity in terms of points of care between offices, gallerias, and all of the space designed to treat or consult with patients. It also aggregates a range of critical care services so residents can save time in addressing a variety of health care needs in one place.
Features of the new facility include 40 primary care exam rooms; 10 behavioral health exam rooms and substance abuse treatment rooms; seven dental exam rooms; four optical exam rooms; as well as space to provide telehealth treatment. Neenan’s design team took great care to create continuity between the new facility and the existing aesthetic of the larger community. The design incorporates specific styles that pay homage to the area’s proud agricultural and mining history, while also enhancing the clinic’s layout to support cohesive, convenient and streamlined health care delivery.
An additional benefit to the community: the new facility is owned and operated by EDCHC. This ensures the organization has maximum flexibility to adapt to the future health care needs of the community and continue to be economically viable for the long term.
Financing was obtained for the project, with support from a U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Development Loan. Unique to this project, EDCHC also received a Health Resources and Services Administration grant to mitigate future weather-related issues, which will focus on a catchment basin for flood control, fire mitigation and power outage.
EDCHC will continue to operate clinics in Cameron Park, but the location of the new facility will enable residents to the east, south and north of Placerville to access more health care services, including COVID-19 screening and vaccinations, which EDCHC offers in partnership with El Dorado County Health & Human Services, El Dorado County Office of Education, Marshall Hospital, and other nonprofit medical services. The organization continues to grow in services while partnering with local nonprofits to reduce barriers to care.