RivCo Constructs Community Health Center in PS

Construction is Underway on a Riverside County Community Health Center in Palm Springs

PALM SPRINGS — Construction is underway on a 35,000-square-foot, one-story building at East Tahquitz Canyon Way and North Sunrise Way that will house a community health center. Construction is expected to be complete by summer 2021.

The new facility will replace Riverside County University Health System’s existing Palm Springs Palm Springs Family Care Center, 515 N. Sunrise Way and will be nearly three times as large. Desert AIDS Project is annexing the building at 1515 N. Sunrise Way as part of an expansion of its services, thus the need for RUHS to locate in the building under construction, David A. Newell, assistant director of planning for the city of Palm Springs, told Uken Report.

The expanded clinic is designed for the integration of mental health and substance use services alongside primary care, dental and pharmacy services for uninsured, underinsured, and underserved residents.

When the county’s new clinic is built, it will be even more impactful to health care in the Coachella Valley as the Desert AIDS Project will be able to fully utilize the building and continue its campus expansion.

“The Palm Springs Family Care Center has long been DAP’s partner in providing primary care,” David Brinkman, Desert AIDS Project CEO, said in a prepared statement. “We are very pleased to see the expansion of their offerings and facilities in Palm Springs. Together, we are increasing healthcare access and removing roadblocks to health and wellness.”

There are 13 community health centers throughout the region. They offer a wide range of free or reduced-cost services including primary care, cancer screening, family planning, sexually transmitted disease services, immunizations, dental care and pediatrics.

The clinics provide care to anyone, including uninsured and under-insured residents, regardless of ability to pay. The new Palm Springs location also will include mental health and substance abuse services.

The larger Palm Spring clinic, Federally Qualified Health Center, will allow the county to increase community health care services in the area. The bulk of the county’s clinics are located in communities west side of the county like Moreno Valley, Riverside and Corona. About 15% are located in the Coachella Valley.

Federally Qualified Health Centers are community-based health care providers that receive funds from the Health Resources and Services Administration Health Center Program to provide primary care services in underserved areas. They must meet a stringent set of requirements, including providing care on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay and operating under a governing board that includes patients.

There are 14 Federally Qualified Health Centers in the Desert Healthcare District including eight Borrego Health clinics in the Coachella Valley; Desert AIDS Project in Palm Springs; Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, which has three valley primary care clinics; and Riverside County’s two primary care clinics in Palm Springs and Indio.