North County Residents to Get First-Ever County Health Clinic

SAN JOSE – North Santa Clara County residents this week moved one step closer to having their first County comprehensive primary care clinic in the County’s 172-year history. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved a long-term lease for a 24,500 square foot facility located on the Palo Alto-Mountain View border at 4151 Middlefield Road. 

“It’s essential that all our residents have access to primary and preventative health care. Otherwise, they wait too long, end up seriously ill, and then find themselves in the emergency room,” said Simitian, who serves as Chair of the County’s Health and Hospital Committee. “Having conveniently located, preventative health care takes some of the stress and worry out of visiting a doctor. It allows people to focus on their health, family, work, and school. Healthier people can go to work or school and contribute to the community, instead of being unnecessarily sidelined by illness.” 

Currently, there are no County primary care clinics located in the North County communities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, or Palo Alto, or anywhere in Simitian’s district (which includes all or part of nine different cities and includes 400,000 residents). There are more than 90,000 residents in the district who make less than 400% of the federal poverty limit, which is just $54,360 for an individual, and $110,000 for a family of four.

As of last year, Valley Health Center Sunnyvale (the closest County clinic to North County) is at capacity and sees almost 6,000 residents yearly with a current wait time of 34 days to see a doctor. “A new North County clinic could take some of the pressure off our overburdened Valley Health Center Sunnyvale, and reduce the ‘far-too-long’ wait times for appointment,” said Simitian.

4151 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

The planned services are part of the County of Santa Clara Health System’s health care delivery system, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. The new two-story clinic with ample space for patient consults will provide primary care, mental health, OB/GYN, pediatrics, and urgent care services. Lab, pharmacy, and imaging services will also be available along with rotating specialty care services. Patients in the North County communities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, and Palo Alto will be able to access these services much closer to home when the clinic opens in late 2024.

Over the past ten years, Simitian has been an advocate for bringing County health care services to the North County and West Valley, which he represents. Raising awareness of this need, he has noted, “My district is the only District in the County without a primary care County health clinic.” In fact, every one of the other four districts in the County has at least three County clinics and/or hospitals.”

To meet the health care needs of residents in the North County, the County has provided a number of new health care resources to serve them.  These include:

• A specialty health care clinic next door to community partner Planned Parenthood in Mountain View which provides limited specialty care, supplementing the care provided by Planned Parenthood and other community health care providers,
• A retail pharmacy co-located with the specialty health care clinic in Mountain View,
• A dental clinic on El Camino Real, also in Mountain View; and,
• An allcove site to serve young people with mental and physical health resources and services on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto.

“These local health care services are critical to individuals and families that simply can’t travel to see County physicians and clinicians in San Jose or South San Jose,” said Simitian. “As suggested by our community health care partners, specialty health care services will rotate through the North County clinic, bringing quality, affordable care closer to patients and families.”

Simitian first introduced a North County healthcare clinic proposal (in October 2021) directing County administration to report to the Board with options for building a North County/West Valley primary care health center in District Five. In response, County administration identified options for building a primary care clinic in the northern portion of the County; Tuesday’s Board action puts the County on a path to open such a clinic in the fall of 2024.