Plans for West Valley health clinic move forward

SAN JOSE – Santa Clara County continues to pursue plans to develop a full-service County health clinic on the De Anza College campus in Cupertino. A feasibility study final report was presented to the Board of Supervisors on February 27; the Board voted to continue the effort. 

“We should be looking for every opportunity to give folks in our community options for accessing affordable and quality health care,” said County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who serves as Chair of the County’s Health and Hospital Committee and in April 2022 requested that County administration explore options to bring County health care services to the De Anza College campus. “There is clearly a shortage of such services in the West Valley.”

In pursuing his proposal for a County health clinic in the West Valley, Simitian noted that, “Every one of the other four supervisorial districts in the county has three or four County clinics or hospitals. District Five, the West Valley and North County area that I represent, has none.” He said of his West Valley proposal, “This is healthcare for people who need it where they need it.”

Since 2022, the County and Foothill-De Anza Community College District have been working together on the feasibility and planning of the construction of a medical office building that will bring health care services to both the campus population and the broader West Valley community. To support the College District’s health care professional programs and curriculum, the County and District also would collaborate on education/internship programs within the clinic. 

“Our community offers so much to our residents, yet lots of families still don’t have convenient access to medical services,” said County Supervisor Otto Lee, who serves as Vice Chair of the County’s Health and Hospital Committee, and who co-authored the proposal with Simitian. “This proposed clinic will help students, working families, seniors, and many more get medical services and health care closer to home.”

The De Anza College student population is made up of nearly 17,000 individuals who reside across the County. Approximately 72% of students are 24 years of age or younger, and 45% are considered low-income, with over 10,000 receiving financial aid.

“This is a very, very exciting project, and a much-needed one to provide services not only to our students and faculty and staff, but equally important to the residents of Santa Clara County and the surrounding community of De Anza College,” said Lee Lambert, Chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

Currently, there are no County or community clinics located in the West Valley. The nearest seven zip codes to De Anza College, which span Cupertino, Los Altos, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, and West San Jose, have a total population of 216,117. Within that area, there are 38,602 individuals living below 400% of the federal poverty level or $120,000 annually for a family of four, 21,758 enrolled on Medi-Cal, and 7,660 enrolled on Covered California who could benefit from having a Santa Clara Valley Healthcare clinic close to where they live, work, or go to school. 

While some residents of the West Valley communities have access to quality health care through established providers, there are many, said Simitian, “who fall into that ‘missing middle’ of health care. They make just a little too much to qualify for most government programs, but not enough to afford first-rate insurance or out-of-pocket health care.”

The 25,000 square-foot medical office building will be located on the De Anza College campus in Parking Lot B, near the campus’ east entrance. Clinic services would include primary care, urgent care, dental care, mental health, imaging, laboratory, and pharmacy. Additional services will also be considered based on further review and analysis.