SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC) is opening a new dental facility in South Sacramento. It is also renovating two existing buildings at the plot of land located at 3800 Florin Road.
The new facility and renovations are being made possible through a $500,000 grant from the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation.
The purpose is to better serve its target populations.
Why South Sacramento?
Britta Guerrero, SNAHC CEO, said the community of South Sacramento is where their target population lives and is who primarily uses their services.
"it's one of the largest indigenous communities in the state, about 14% of the population identifies as Native American. There is also a large population of underserved, underinsured low-income and medical-dependent beneficiaries. And those are all of our target populations," Guerrero said. "So it makes sense that we go to them."
She added that a community needs assessment was done before announcing the expansion. Through that assessment, they learned that there is a lack of dental care issue in the community.
"So because we're a federally qualified health center, we offer primary care, multiple specialties, and also dental and behavioral health, and bringing a comprehensive dental into an area that would be easily accessible, that's already underserved, is a no brainer," she said.
Timeline and what to expect
Groundbreaking and construction at the expansion site started this month. An expected grand opening of SNAHC Florin Road is estimated between June and September 2022.
The site will include medical and behavioral health services and the Youth and Family Space in two of the existing buildings that are being renovated. A new building will be constructed and house the dental clinic and main lobby/patient waiting area.
Guerrero added that, through the COVID-19 pandemic, it revealed to SNAHC the need for services in low-income and communities of color.
"We really need to do what we can to ensure that we're removing barriers that we are creating social services and support for them," Guerrero said.
SNAHC currently has its lone location located in Midtown Sacramento between 20th and 21st Streets. It is open Monday through Friday: 7:30 am – 5:00 pm and closed on Saturday and Sunday.
A full list of SNAHC services can be found on their website.
