The facility, called Churn Creek Wellness and Dental Care, is on the southeast side of Redding. The tribe plans to help underserved populations.
Glen Hayward, executive director of the Rancheria’s Tribal Health System, said the two specialties were included in the same clinic merely because the community has a dire need for both mental health care and oral care.
"So the tribe, as part of our vision to make sure that we continue to serve the underserved, felt that an expansion of our dental program would be beneficial to the underserved in this area," he said.
The dental clinic will offer general dentistry, annual cleanings and minor oral surgeries.
The recovery center will offer medication-assisted therapy to people struggling with substance misuse. There will also be a behavioral health center where patients can receive counseling.
Staff will include behavioral health therapists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. The clinic will only provide outpatient services.
Hayward said their dental clinic already has a 10-month waitlist.
"Dental care for the underserved has been a chronic problem for decades in this county. So we were not surprised. We knew that was going to be completely impacted. We're already working to try and figure out how we make expansions and move other dentists from other campuses to help try and meet that need," he said.
He said many of these new patients are mothers calling to schedule appointments for their kids, who may have never seen a dentist.
Patients do not have to be Native American, but the clinic will only accept low-income insurance through the programs Partnership Health and Medicaid.
The rancheria purchased and renovated the 4,000-square-foot building, which had previously been a dental practice, for about $2.1 million.
The tribe, which includes Pit River, Wintu and Yana people, also operates health care clinics in Redding and Weaverville.
Patients looking for services can call Churn Creek Wellness and Dental Care to make an appointment.
