One of the biggest holes in the county’s social services network
will be filled when a new health clinic opens in Gilroy in
2008.
Gilroy – One of the biggest holes in the county’s social services network will be filled when a new health clinic opens in Gilroy in 2008.
Called the Valley Health Clinic Gilroy, the facility will offer obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, ophthalmology and public health services such as immunizations and nutrition programs for low-income women and children. It will also house a pharmacy and digital X-ray diagnostic equipment.
“It’s a service we need in South County,” Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage said Monday. “It’s the same reason we built a courthouse in Morgan Hill and all those other good things that people in South County deserve.”
The approximately $50 million clinic will go out to bid next month and be financed with a bond offering scheduled for next year. It will be built at the Southpoint Business Park at Arroyo Circle, where the county owns 11 acres of land it purchased in 2003 for $5.5 million.
The clinic will serve all residents but will cater to indigent clients without insurance. Many of the services will be moved from the county’s facility in San Martin.
County health department spokeswoman Joy Alexiou said the Gilroy clinic will offer a wider range of services and newer equipment. She said Gilroy needs its own clinic because the city is one of the poorest parts of the county.
“As Gilroy has expanded the need for health care services in that population has become more evident,” Alexiou said. “Clients [in San Martin] tend to come more out of Gilroy so we’re going to provide better access to those clients. We’re going to where the services are needed.”
Having extensive medical services in Gilroy will alleviate many hardships for the working poor, who must often travel to San Jose for diagnostic imaging and other treatments. The clinic on Highland Avenue in San Martin is often overwhelmed with patients, forcing people to wait weeks for appointments.
“People have to wait too long for service or attention,” said David Cox, of St. Joseph’s Family Center. “The transportation issue is a tough, tough thing. Hard working families have to give up a whole work day that cuts into their vacation time or cuts into their pay check. Anyone who needs those services will find a Gilroy clinic much more accommodating.”
The Gardner South County Health Clinic in Gilroy offers some family planning, oral care and internal medicine services. In October, the clinic will provide OB-GYN care, but it can see only 21 patients a day and offers no diagnostic imaging services. About 60 percent of its patients lack insurance.
Rosie Velasco, the clinic’s office manager, said a new health care facility, especially one serving women, is critical.
“It’s really necessary,” Velasco said. “A bigger facility with OB-GYN is what we need most in Gilroy.”
Construction should begin next year and finish in time for a 2008 opening. Alexiou said the county intends to maintain some services in San Martin, but has no set plans for that clinic.
