The Redding Rancheria intends for its upcoming $232 million Tribal Health Village in Shasta County to be a place where people can see their cardiologist or dermatologist, get an accupuncture treatment, learn to cook healthy meals, work out in the pool or treat themselves to a spa day.
The 185,000-square-foot complex is expected to break ground in March and could open in about two years, said Glen Hayward, executive director of Redding Rancheria Tribal Health Systems.
At its meeting on Feb. 4, the Redding City Council approved permitting Redding Electric Utility to extend its services to the planned Health Village complex, as the city now does for the nearby Redding Rancheria-owned Winn-River Resort & Casino.
Distinguishing the Redding Rancheria’s Tribal Health Village will be its 95,000-square-foot spa, which will offer massages, facials and Botox treatments as well as intravenous therapies of vitamins or IV fluids.
“In general it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, when you can make a person feel better about themselves… they tend to do better. They’re more likely to come to the doctor. They’re more likely to work out,” said Hayward.
The proposed center will offer traditional and Chinese medicine, Hayward said, blended with a wellness component. The complex will start off with 11 primary care providers and 7 medical specialists, with plans to add more health care staff over time.
“It’s taking all these approaches to health care that really encompass taking care of the whole body of the person,” Hayward said, adding that “We’re just trying to meet the needs of the next 60 years for our tribe” and others in the community.
A total of 22,000 patients belong to the Redding Rancheria health system, which includes people covered by Medicare, Medicaid and the Partnership HealthPlan of California.
Native Americans can join the health system regardless of their insurance coverage and about 40% of Tribal Health patients are Native American, said Hayward. Non-Native Americans must be medically “underserved” to be eligible to join Tribal Health, he said.
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Where some patients will move
Initially, the 8,000 patients now being seen at the Redding Rancheria Tribal Health Center’s main campus on Liberty Street will be transferred to the Health Village, said Hayward.
The Rancheria-owned Churn Creek Healthcare center, now operating at 3184 Churn Creek Road, will move into the 33,000-square-foot location on Liberty Street.
More doctors will be hired at the Churn Creek Road location to care for patients covered by Medicaid, the government health program for low-income and some disabled people, as well as people belonging to Partnership HealthPlan of California. The Churn Creek complex also contains a dental office and drug and alcohol recovery service located in a building that shares a parking lot with the health center.
After the new Health Village opens, total employment in the system will increase to 265, up from 200 now. The tribe’s health system includes five locations in Shasta County and one in Trinity County.
“Proactive” approach for health care
Hayward said the way medicine is delivered now, practitioners tend to step in after someone gets sick.
At the Health Village, he said, “We’re taking more of a proactive approach,” with a demonstration kitchen where dieticians will lead families in an interactive teaching “cook along” where they’ll learn to prepare healthy meals. There will also be an organic garden on site where patients can get fresh vegetables.
It will be the first tribally-owned health center in the country to offer such a wide array of treatments. It will also be the largest tribal health center in California, in terms of square footage, said Hayward.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, dining and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at [email protected]. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
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