Veterans clinic proposed in Yuba City

A new Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic could open in Yuba City as early as next year.

The Yuba City City Council is expected to consider on Tuesday a purchase and sales agreement for Redevelopment Agency property at the northeast corner of Franklin Avenue and Plumas Boulevard for the clinic and additional medical space. The developer, California Gold Development Corp. , plans to begin construction within 120 days and hopes to finish next year.

"If it's run right and the right people are in charge of it, I think it will be beautiful," said Air Force veteran Chuck Carver. "It's one of the benefits we should have had a long time ago."

The Linda resident travels to the Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Sacramento about twice a month to see doctors about his vision, hearing, feet and ailments.

"It will save me personally a lot of trips to McClellan," Carver said of the new clinic. "I know, for some of the veterans up here, it's a regular run down there."

The facility will be a great asset for Yuba-Sutter's 13,000 veterans, who now have to travel to Chico or Sacramento for services, said Marvin King, Yuba-Sutter veterans services officer. The downtown location is appropriate for a local clinic, considering other nearby medical facilities.

"The VA is anticipating a patient load of about 4,000," King said. "I would suspect, as it gets more established and more of our veterans transfer to that facility, it may be more than that."

The Yuba-Sutter area has a need for primary care, and mental health, pharmacy and lab services for its vet community, he said. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a particularly common problem.

Many veterans are also shut-ins, and even though the VA offers home health visits, patients have to be within 30 miles of an existing facility, Carver said. With a Yuba City facility, many local veterans should be able to take advantage of that service.

"This gives them the opportunity to get the VA health care they are entitled to in a local setting," he said.

California Gold Development was also the developer of a 10,000-square-foot VA clinic in Sonora and a 9,000-square-foot clinic in Merced. Company President Scot Patterson said a project of this size typically takes eight to 12 months to complete but the goal is to finish the clinic in 2011.

"The VA is very interested in getting in quickly and we'll do our best to accommodate that," he said.

The clinic would occupy the first floor, which is planned to be about 11,000 square feet. The second floor, about 12,000 square feet, would be available for lease.

The sales agreement with Yuba City is for two acres of redevelopment property at a fair market value of $435,000. Patterson declined to state the cost of the project.

The clinic will bring an estimated 20 jobs to the community, with openings for doctors, nurses and clerical staff, said Darin Gale, the city's economic development manager. And it should improve the overall quality of life and health of residents.

"Many people, when they travel outside their area, they are buying gas in other areas ... they are not supporting local restaurants after attending their appointments," Gale said. "There is a huge economic impact."

The project will return to the City Council before start of construction to approve the architecture and development plans, Gale said. Normally such a project would begin with a request for proposals, but the Veterans Affairs clinic has proceeded differently because of the council's recognition of a local need and desire to meet that need quickly.

If the clinic is going to be a success, it will need to provide necessary services with the correct attitude and an education and understanding of veterans' problems, Carver said. Veterans can be emotionally sensitive, and the smallest issue might turn them away from the care they need.

Local outreach will also be critical, to let veterans know the services available and that they can access them at a Yuba City clinic.

"There's too many veterans that are out there who are not aware of their benefits," Carver said. "They need all they can get."

CONTACT Ashley Gebb at 749-4724 or agebb@appealdemocrat.com