SANTA PAULA : Medical Center to Expand Services

The Ventura County Medical Center plans to expand its services in Santa Paula and move from its facility on Main Street into eight trailers next door.

The Santa Paula Planning Commission approved the plan Tuesday for the center to build two structures, each made up of four attached 12-foot by 60-foot trailers, said Pierce Leavell, program administrator for the center.

One of the structures will house the public health care program, which includes family planning and the Women, Infants and Children section. The other will house a family practice clinic.

The current clinic building has been shared by the Medical Center and the Ventura County Public Social Services Agency. When the trailers are installed, the Social Services Agency will take over the original structure except for a small Medi-Cal eligibility office, Assistant Planner Jeff Hamilton said.

The center is one of six outpatient clinics run by the county. Patients come from as far away as Fillmore and Piru for medical care, and the clinic is often backlogged, Leavell said.

The new structures will increase the number of exam rooms from two to seven. The staff, now a part-time doctor and part-time nurse-practitioner, will be expanded to two full-time physicians.

“The trailers are on order and we hope to have them up and running by the end of January,” Leavell said.

The $500,000 project will be paid for with state and county funds.