Peach Tree Clinic expanding pediatric services
Peach Tree Clinic in Linda will begin an 1,800-square-foot expansion in June, with a focus on a larger pediatric area set to open by the end of the year.
The expansion, which Yuba County supervisors expressed support for Tuesday evening, will allow the clinic to separate its services for children from a waiting room for other patients at the not-for-profit clinic on Packard Avenue.
Peach Tree Health Care CEO Tom Walther said the center had to look into expansion after an increase of 7,500 patient visits over the last four years.
"With unemployment in Yuba County at 22 percent, we see it doing nothing but rising further," Walther said.
The clinic needed an OK from supervisors to proceed with spending $100,000 in design fees to begin the expansion. Yuba County's Health and Human Services Department shares a building with Peach Tree on Packard, and both agencies pay rent.
As a result of the expansion, the monthly rent will rise by $9,000 — an amount Peach Tree will cover — and the building complex will lose about 40 parking spaces. Walther said county surveys indicated there would still be enough parking after the expansion is complete.
"We didn't want a $100,000 obligation if the board wouldn't move forward with this idea," he said after the supervisors' unanimous approval of the expansion.
Supervisor Hal Stocker, a retired doctor, said during the meeting he was encouraged to see health care expanding in the region. Last month, Fremont-Rideout Health Group announced it would consolidate most of its services at Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville.
"It's good to see, isn't it?" Stocker said of Peach Tree's expansion.
Peach Tree could be in line for more growth in years to come, with the recently passed health care reform bill including $1.2 billion in its first year of implementation for capital projects for community health care centers like Peach Tree.
Walther said an additional $9 billion will be available for ongoing operations at centers nationwide.
He noted late Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, an ardent supporter of health care reform, was one of the first to establish community health care centers.
Such centers are particularly important in economically hard-hit areas where more people lack health insurance or comprehensive health insurance, Walther said.
CONTACT Ben van der Meer at749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com.
