photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCB
Doctor Parker Duncan-Diaz speaking outside the Santa Rosa Community Health
Dutton Avenue clinic in March, 2025. 

Santa Rosa Community Health is expanding its pediatric care in Santa Rosa, at the same time as Providence is planning to close the in-patient pediatric unit at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Santa Rosa Community Health's new pediatric clinic is a part of joint effort with Partnership Health Plan and Providence.

Santa Rosa Community Health CEO Gaby Bernal Leroi said they'll be taking over what had been a Providence urgent care clinic on Corporate Center Parkway in Santa Rosa.

"So it's full scope primary care with a lot of same day access for sick visits," Bernal Leroi said. "We're going to take care of children 0 to 19 and...it is outpatient only, but I think it's also important to note that we take care of a lot of newborns, and newborns released from the neonatal intensive care unit will also be welcome at the site."

Bernal Leroi said she expects the clinic to see an additional 2,500 pediatric patients per year, and said they are looking to add another pediatrician to handle the expected influx of child patients.

Santa Rosa Community Health primarily serves low-income patients.

It already operates one pediatric clinic on Stony Point Road in Santa Rosa. The second children's healthcare clinic will be the nonprofits' ninth facility.

Bernal Leroi said while Santa Rosa Community Health won't be providing in-patient services, she hopes the clinic can help keep children out of the hospital long-term thanks to more preventative care.

"We are lucky though to be in a region where we've got such spectacular hospitals like UCSF and Stanford, and I know that it's going to be harder for families, but one of our services is to help families navigate and coordinate all of the different specialty and other appointments that their children may may have," Bernal Leroi said.

Bernal-Leroi said some families will likely have to travel further for specialty care, but said Providence has told the community health provider it plans to maintain some pediatric specialists at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The new Santa Rosa community health pediatric clinic is set to open in early November.