New Sonoma Valley health center adds dental care

[caption id="attachment_101535" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Receptionist Maggie Anderson shows one of six "operatories" (dental chair suites) at Sonoma Valley Community Health Center's new dental clinic will open to the public in a few weeks. Kishore Shetty is the dental clinic director. (photos credit: Gary Quackenbush)[/caption]

SONOMA -- Sonoma Valley Community Health Center moved to a larger building in July and has added a dental clinic.

"It outgrew this facility and had to rent additional space down the street," said health center CEO Cheryl Johnson. The center opened in 1992 at 430 W. Napa St.

[caption id="attachment_101537" align="alignright" width="300"] Cheryl Johnson at a medical health records terminal[/caption]

She said the health center (707-939-6070, svchc.org) is the largest provider of primary medical services to Medi-Cal, low income and uninsured patients in the Sonoma Valley. Open six days a week, the organization serves all patients regardless of insurance level or ability to pay.

Patients include local families, children, retirees on Medicare, new residents, tourists, those without health insurance and employees of agriculture, hospitality and tourist economy.

"With a 30 percent annual growth rate, we had to look for larger quarters and conducted an eight-year search for a new site," she said.

In 2012, the federal government notified the health center that it could provide a grant of $5 million for equipment and construction - but not for buying real estate.

In 2013, the center put a bid package together and approached the owner of the new health center location, 19270 Sonoma Ave., built in 1965.

[caption id="attachment_101536" align="alignright" width="300"] Sonoma Valley Community Health Center's new location, 19270 Sonoma Ave. opened July 22 with a staff of 75.[/caption]

"We bought this building with an acquisition bridge loan and commissioned Neenan Archistruction to make internal improvements," Ms. Johnson said. The total cost of the new center was $11.6 million, including equipment.

Today the health center includes six "operatories" (dental chairs) in the new dental clinic, 15 family and internal medicine clinic exam rooms, four obstetrics and specialty services clinic exam rooms, and five consulting rooms for the behavioral health services clinic. The facility also has two education and conference center classrooms, two patient services rooms and a phlebotomy lab, plus three reception areas and administrative space.

The center's staff of 75 health care professionals and support personnel, moved into its new 18,621-square-foot building on July 22 - with more than double the space they had previously.

This nonprofit with an annual operating budget of $5 million recently hired Kishore Shetty, D.D.S., as the director of the dental clinic, and Joseph Cutler as the director of its Behavioral Health Services Clinic.

Dr. Shetty is licensed to practice dentistry in seven states and is board-certified by the American Board of Hospital Dentistry, the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology and the American College of Oral Implantology.

Mr. Cutler received his bachelor's degree from California State University and an MSW degree from the University of California. He has been affiliated with Kaiser Permanente medical centers since 1993 and most recently was a behavioral medicine consultant at the one in Santa Rosa.

[caption id="attachment_101534" align="alignleft" width="199"] Joseph Cutler is the new director of the behavioral health services clinic at the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center.[/caption]

"We currently see about 7,000 patients a year, representing 30,000 office visits, and expect this total to reach 9,000 patients and 56,000 office visits annually in the near future," Ms. Johnson said.

Some 52 percent of patients are Latino, the fastest-growing group, while 42 percent are white with the remaining six percent including all other ethnic populations.

For about four years, the only Medi-Cal/Dental-Cal adult dental service involved tooth extractions. However, now federal and state governments are placing increased emphasis on dental care in an attempt to better control overall health outcomes.

"Dental cavities can result in low birth weights, cardiovascular disease and unhealthy increases in glucose levels," said Dr. Shetty. "We recently participated in a local health fair, and 50 of those we saw needed dental care. Some children are not learning at optimal levels due to pain caused by dental problems."

In his new role, Dr. Shetty will oversee all dental services and administration of the new 1,814-square-foot dental clinic, built at a cost of $1.5 million.

According to a 2010 study conducted by the Sonoma County Task Force on Oral Health, there were only 15 dentists for 109,000 low-income dental patients countywide.

The task force characterized this as a local health care crisis. As a result, 52 percent of area third-graders have a history of tooth decay - well above the California state average.

Ms. Johnson observed that since reimbursements are based on patient visits, the new dental clinic will become "a flagship offering" to help attract new patients.

Government studies also show that 67 percent of the population needs short or long-term behavioral intervention, and that many psychotropic drugs are being prescribed by primary care physicians rather than by mental health professionals.

"There is an ongoing need for behavioral health specialists to help consult with patients suffering from depression and anxiety caused by unemployment, marital issues and many other factors," Mr. Cutler said. "We plan to grow in 2015 and are looking for a bilingual doctor for our behavioral health services clinic."

Today the medical community and the public sector are focusing more on serving the whole person.

"Our goal is to improve access to primary care by becoming a one-stop-shop addressing the overall health needs of everyone that comes to us, but we can't do this alone," Ms. Johnson said. "We work with 15 community partners, including Sonoma Valley Hospital, local schools, La Luz, UCSF and other organizations, to fulfill this mission."

In January, the center launched the next phase of its capital campaign to raise $3 million by June 30 next year to hire new medical personnel, equipment and technology and to retire the acquisition bridge loan. A portion of these funds would be used to provide new specialty care services such as cardiology, endocrinology, neurology and dermatology. To date, more than $1 million in local and Bay Area gifts have been raised. (The campaign contact is Kathleen Bianchi-Rossi, 707-939-2330.)

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