Saticoy : Low-Income Clinic to Break Ground

Crowded out by the rerouted Simi Valley Freeway, Clinicas del Camino Real will break ground today for a new health clinic in Saticoy.

The new clinic, one of four countywide dedicated to serving low-income residents, will offer physical therapy, dental and vision care as well as traditional medical and psychological services, said Executive Director Robert S. Juarez.

The two-story building at 250 S. Wells Road will also function as the nonprofit corporation’s headquarters, Juarez said. It is expected to open in September, 1995.

“Our Saticoy facility was severely affected by the realignment of Highway 118 and we had to find a new location,” he said. “This facility will enable us to expand our medical services.”

Clinicas also operates clinics in Fillmore, Ojai and the La Colonia area of Oxnard. In 1993, the chain of clinics registered more than 60,000 visits.

The Saticoy clinic opened in 1978. The facility, at 1280 S. Wells Road, is still open but is considered too close to the highway, said Al Limon, a program coordinator.

The realignment of the highway has brought cheers from many Saticoy residents who are pleased to see traffic diverted from the historic downtown but complaints from businesses forced to move out of the way.

In addition to the Saticoy site, Clinicas must rebuild or relocate its Fillmore clinic, which was irreparably damaged in the Jan. 17 earthquake.

Fillmore’s new planning laws, requiring shops and restaurants along the downtown commercial strip, would prevent Clinicas from rebuilding at its original site unless it adds a pharmacy to the clinic front.