Valley Health Clinic Gilroy will include pediatric care,
obstetrics, public health services, nutrition programs
Gilroy – County health officials have approved nearly $60-million to make health services more accessible to South County residents.
On Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors signed off on a bid to begin work on the Valley Health Clinic Gilroy, slated for construction in Southpoint Business Park on Arroyo Circle, just off U.S. 101.
The centrally located facility will take on many of the functions and staff of the current health clinic off Monterey Road in San Martin, though county officials said that facility will continue to operate.
The new clinic 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.
Gary Graves, chief deputy for County Executive Pete Kutras, does not expect the new facility to boost the county’s bottom line.
“This is more an attempt to increase our reach in the community,” he said. “Public health is not a money-making operation by any means, because a lot of the people we’re dealing with have limited or no insurance. … Our goal is to try and move services into the communities, so it’s more convenient for the patients.”
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.
County officials expect the new facility to help meet the growing need for obstetric and gynecological care. Currently, the Gardner South County Health Clinic in Gilroy offers some family planning, oral care and internal medicine services, although it now only has the capacity to see about 21 patients a day and offers no diagnostic imaging services. About 60 percent of its patients lack insurance.
The Gilroy Clinic is part of a broader county plan to bolster health services. Officials also plan to build a new health clinic in Milpitas.
A bond offering scheduled for this year will finance the Gilroy clinic, slated for construction on 11 acres the county purchased in 2003 for $5.5 million. Construction is expected to begin this year and finish in time for a 2008 opening.
