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Tribal Owned Women’s Health Center Opens in Chico

Tribal Owned Women’s Health Center Opens in Chico

Tribal Owned Women’s Health Center Opens in Chico

By Samuel White Swan-Perkins

 

The women of Butte County and its outlying areas have an exciting new resource in Chico to celebrate: a health center focused exclusively on women’s wellness.

The new clinic will offer services such as prenatal, gynecological and family planning services. Parenting and pregnancy training will be held in the near future. The building, located across the street from the existing North Valley Indian Health offices on Cohasset Rd, is centrally located in a neighborhood right off of highway 99. Offering 10 exam rooms and three rooms dedicated exclusively to the better babies program, the clinic is open to the general public and there are special services designed for federally recognized American Indian tribal members.

The new Women’s Clinic will certainly be a boon to the area for all, as health care access in semi-rural Butte County could be best described as lacking, as providers struggle to provide culturally relevant services. “We are thrilled to begin construction at Meriam Park,” said Dennis Ramirez, chairman of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe. “While this significant tribal development will certainly improve the lives of our tribal members by increasing access to all tribal services, it is our hope that this project will also work to improve the lives of those in our community as we open the doors to Chico’s newest health clinic where all patients are welcome.” This is seen as a huge stride in a community whose Native population is relatively low, given its proximity to several rancherias and strong local history; indeed, the Native American population in Chico proper hovers around 1.4%.

Northern Valley Indian Health Board of Directors consists of members from a confederacy of tribes: the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria, the Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation of California, and the Cortina Band of Wintun Indians of California. More information is available at nvih.org. Northern Valley Indian Healthy already operates medical and dental clinics in Chico, Red Bluff, Willows and Woodland and offers excellent programs for the wellness of the local Native communities.

“We are excited to open our doors and begin to care for hundreds of patients at the Women’s Health Center,” said Inder Wadhwa, executive director of Northern Valley Indian Health. “The demand for quality health care in Chico is at an all-time high and we are proud to have the ability to establish a new clinic catered to women’s care.”

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The growth that Wadhwa references certainly is not lost on local politicians. Congressman Doug LaMalfa was in Chico in March and attended the clinics’ groundbreaking ceremony. LaMalfa is a member of the House Committee on Public Resources and a subcommittee member on Indian and Alaska Native affairs. At the event he stated, “It’s important we get it right on these issues—Indian health services have lagged in the past, but we’ve made good strides in recent years.”

The clinic is located at 500 Cohasset Road, Suite 15 in Chico. Please visit the website at nvih.org for more information or call 530-896-9400.

 

Samuel White Swan-Perkins resides in Chico, Ca and is the owner of White Swan-Perkins Cultural Consulting. He is a contributing writer for publications such as powwows.com, Indian Country Today Media Network and News from Native California. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming and hiking around Butte county with his girlfriend Iraya and their two dogs, Gert and Buster.

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