Santa Rosa Community Health to Expand Pediatric Services as Local Hospital Unit Closes
Santa rosa, CA – Santa Rosa Community Health announced today it will open a new pediatric clinic in Santa Rosa in early November, expanding access to primary care for children as Providence prepares to close it’s in-patient pediatric unit at Santa Rosa Memorial hospital. The expansion aims to offset potential gaps in care resulting from the hospital closure adn serve a growing need within the community.
The new clinic, a joint effort with Partnership Health Plan and Providence, will occupy a former Providence urgent care facility on Corporate Center Parkway.It will provide full-scope primary care for children aged 0 to 19, with a focus on same-day sick visits and follow-up care for newborns, including those recently discharged from neonatal intensive care units. This expansion is particularly critically important as Santa Rosa Community Health primarily serves low-income patients, ensuring continued access to vital pediatric services for a vulnerable population.
“So it’s full scope primary care with a lot of same day access for sick visits,” said Gaby Bernal Leroi,CEO of Santa Rosa Community Health. “We’re going to take care of children 0 to 19 and…it is indeed outpatient only, but I think it’s also significant to note that we take care of a lot of newborns, and newborns released from the neonatal intensive care unit will also be welcome at the site.”
Santa Rosa Community Health anticipates the new clinic will serve an additional 2,500 pediatric patients annually and is actively seeking to hire another pediatrician to meet the increased demand. This new facility will become the nonprofit’s ninth location, building upon its existing pediatric clinic on Stony Point Road.
While the clinic will not offer in-patient services, Bernal Leroi emphasized the importance of preventative care in keeping children healthy and reducing hospitalizations. She also noted that Providence has committed to maintaining some pediatric specialists at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, and Santa Rosa Community health will assist families in navigating specialty care appointments and coordinating services, even if travel to regional centers like UCSF and Stanford becomes necessary.
“We are lucky though to be in a region where we’ve got such spectacular hospitals like UCSF and Stanford,and I know that it’s going to be harder for families,but one of our services is to help families navigate and coordinate all of the different specialty and other appointments that their children may may have,” Bernal Leroi said.
