From humble beginnings in 1996, Santa Rosa Community Health Centers has evolved from a dream of bringing desperately needed health services to southwest Santa Rosa to a major provider of health care services in Sonoma County.
Our story begins when five family physicians and one family nurse practitioner made it their mission to bring high quality health care to the Roseland area of Santa Rosa, where the predominantly Latino community had no access to medical care. These six providers worked tirelessly for four years until their first clinic opened with the help of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Southwest Community Health Center opened its doors on St. Joseph’s day with two doctors and one medical assistant who were warmly welcomed to the community.
Since that time, our health center has expanded to meet the growing need for health care throughout Santa Rosa. Even at our original Southwest Community Health Center location on Lombardi Court, we have expanded hours to evenings and Saturdays and remodeled the facility three times to increase the number of provider exam rooms. Our original Lombardi Court health center now has 21 exam rooms and 11 full-time providers.
As the years went by, our organization grew. In 2001 we added Elsie Allen Health Center, in 2003 the Turning Point Satellite Clinic, and Southwest Adult Day Services in 2004. We opened a satellite clinic at Chanate Family Practice Center in 2004 as well, and then partnered with the Family Practice Residency Program in 2007 to assume the operation of the entire Chanate Family Practice Center. The Residency Program is where 36 family medicine residents receive outstanding training while caring for those most in need. The Homeless Clinic (now Brookwood Health Center) and Roseland Children’s Health Center joined our organization in 2008. In 2010, we expanded to provide HIV/AIDS care.
In 2011 we launched our biggest expansion, the Vista Family Health Center on Round Barn Circle. This 42,500-square-foot facility replaced the Chanate Family Practice Center and will provide comprehensive primary care and obstetrics to an additional 10,000 people in our community.
In 2012, we relocated the Roseland Children’s Health Center to a new, larger location, and renamed it Roseland Pediatrics. This bright, welcoming space is already well-utilized and loved.
Our goal in 2013 is to open a new dental health center that provides care for 6,500 children and adults.
Today we care for more than 40,000 people, providing more than 183,000 medical visits each year. We believe that every person deserves access to care and every person deserves to feel cared for. Over the years our dream has grown but our vision has remained the same: To provide high quality, comprehensive, compassionate primary care and health education for all people in need of a “medical home.”
