Sonoma Valley will reach a major turning point on Sept. 29, the day the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center (SVCHC) hopes to close escrow on its future home.
About a year ago, we received a $5 million grant to build a new community health center. The timing of the grant was not an accident, it was coupled with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which will change many things about how health care is delivered. One of the significant changes will be the expansion of the Medi-Cal program to cover more families.
The estimate for Sonoma County is a 30 percent increase in Medi-Cal ranks. In our current location, we are struggling to meet the demand of close to 30,000 visits per year, given our current patient population.
SVCHC plays a vital role in the health safety net in Sonoma Valley. The health center is open to all, regardless of ability to pay. We accept private insurance, Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid), Medicare, and uninsured patients who are charged a sliding scale fee based on income.
Our focus on preventive care and our work with low-income families provides a perfect complement to Sonoma Valley Hospital with their emergency services, acute care, and programs for the elderly. Simply said, together SVCHC and SVH form the health safety net for Sonoma Valley.
Without additional space, our more than 7,000 patients will be forced to endure long waiting times for appointments and we may have to turn people away. Concerned about the delay, some of our patients may find their way to the new emergency room at Sonoma Valley Hospital.
Sending a high volume of non-emergency patients to the SVH’s emergency room will create an extremely difficult situation. The health center needs to be the first line of defense in medical care. The more preventive care we can provide, the healthier our citizens are and the more cost effective our medical institutions.
The new home for the Community Health Center will be located at 19270 Sonoma Highway (directly across from the Maxwell Village Shopping Center) and will open in the summer of 2014. After looking at 14 different sites, and coming very close to purchasing some land north of the Springs area, we believe that we have found the ideal site in a great location, easily accessible by public transportation and with ample parking.
To complete the purchase of this property, we must now raise $500,000 in cash by Sept. 20 from private donations. If we succeed in meeting this fundraising challenge, our community will have a new Community Health Center. However, if we don’t reach our goal, the 8-year dream of a new health center for the community will recede over the horizon and the Community Health Center will lose the $5 million grant we were awarded.
One of the challenges for our capital campaign – our very first – is that despite our 20 years of service to the community, and being the largest health center in Sonoma Valley, we are still virtually unknown. We believe that this is due, in large part, to the fact that we have never asked the community for financial support since our programs and services are funded through our operating income and federal grants (a model which will continue to be true in the future).
This is an urgent call, therefore, to action for our community and we need the public’s help now. Please join us in supporting the SVCHC Capital Campaign for the new Community Health Center.
Sept. 29 is the turning point; let’s turn in the right direction.
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Susan Drake is chair of the board and Marc Schwager is co-chair of the capital campaign for the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center. The Sonoma Valley Community Health Center is currently located at 430 W. Napa St. For more information, call Kathleen Bianchi-Rossi at 939-2330.
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