January 11, 2024
BROOKS, Calif. (January 11, 2024) – With its soaring, double-height foyer and plentiful natural wood and stone finishes, Yolo County’s newest healthcare center is a monument to the beautiful result of partnership, philanthropy, and hope. On January 11, community members and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation tribal leaders gathered in the building’s grand entry hall to celebrate the official opening of the Capay Valley Health and Community Center, or Wihne da Puchuma da Kewe, which means “Medicine and Healing House” in Yocha Dehe’s native Patwin Language.
The 28,000-square-foot hub for health and social services is located on the corner of Yolo Avenue and County Road 21A in Esparto. It is the first such center to provide full-time medical, dental, vision and pharmacy services in the region. The building already houses Winters Healthcare and Rural Innovations in Social Economics, Inc. (RISE), and Yolo County Sheriff and American Medical Response have also leased spaced and will move-in soon.
The building was funded primarily by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation in partnership with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, Brown Construction, Inc., Winters Healthcare Foundation, Inc., and RISE, Inc., as well as donations and volunteer efforts.
“This project has been in the works for four decades and will transform our rural community by providing access and equity,” said Yocha Dehe Tribal Secretary James Kinter. “And it shows that when we work in partnership we can accomplish spectacular things.”
Yocha Dehe’s major philanthropic arm, Doyuti T’uhkama, prioritizes funding worthy projects serving residents of the Tribe’s historic territory. Esparto and the surrounding communities in rural Capay Valley are part of the historic homeland of the Patwin people.