By Mike Hazlip—
Community leaders gathered with Dignity Health executives Tuesday morning for the official opening of a new medical facility in Citrus Heights.
The $13 million, 16,000-square-foot facility at the corner of Stock Ranch and Sylvan Road will be used for outpatient general surgeries such as orthopedics, gastroenterology, and podiatry procedures, according to a Dignity Health press release.
The center has three operating room beds, three treatment bays and 11 recovery beds, according to the release. About 70 health care professionals will be on staff at the center.
“This state-of-the-art facility is providing needed medical services to residents of Citrus Heights and the Sacramento region and bringing high level jobs to our community,” said Mayor Porsche Middleton. “I look forward to having them serve our community with high quality medical care for many generations.”
Middleton said it took “strong partnerships” with Dignity Health and Mercy San Juan to bring the center to Citrus Heights. She added the facility will bring health care professionals from surrounding areas to the city.
President of Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Medical Center Michael Korpiel told The Sentinel that Citrus Heights is a key area for the organization’s expansion.
“Citrus Heights is an important community for Dignity Health,” Korpiel said. “We have Mercy San Juan which is right on the border of Citrus Heights and a couple of years ago we opened up our medical office building right on the other side of City Hall.”
Korpiel added Mercy San Juan has been in the area since the early 1960s, calling the city “part of our home.” He said the city has helped move the project forward and credited the city’s former city manager, Chris Boyd, as an instrumental part of the development.
Other city leaders also expressed gratitude that the center is now open and said medical facilities are a good path for future developments in Citrus Heights. Healthcare is listed as one of the fastest growing industries according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“I’m a firm believer that if you’ve got a good job base, it will support the housing, it will support the retail and the services that you need to provide,” said Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins. “It will support the quality of life that you want.”
Dignity Health and United Surgical Partners International now own 13 facilities in the area and 35 across four states after first partnering in 2012, according to the release.