Many California community health centers operate in outdated, inadequate facilities that limit their ability to increase capacity or offer additional services to patients. As described in a new issue brief, Hill Country Health and Wellness Center (Round Mountain, California) and Open Door's Del Norte Community Health Center (Crescent City, California) have built welcoming, spacious facilities that have transformed the clinics from care providers to community focal points.

Among the design principles demonstrated in one or both projects:

• Ensuring community members are involved in the planning process;
• Creating kitchens, libraries, and other spaces that accommodate community outreach programs, ranging from healthy cooking classes to art education;
• Building facilities using sustainable principles and educating communities about these practices;
• Integrating standardized exam rooms and other evidence-based planning and design features more commonly found in acute care settings;
• Creating larger clinical spaces to accommodate multidisciplinary care and group sessions among a patient, family members, and multiple providers; and
• Incorporating telemedicine to provide care from specialists outside the clinic's walls.

The complete issue brief is available under Document Downloads.