Largest Adventist Clinic Reopens in Fire-Ravaged Paradise
23 December 2018 | Feather River Health Center, the largest of the clinics run by Adventist Health Feather River, has reopened after the devastating fire that burned most of Paradise, California, to the ground in early November.
Unlike the main Feather River hospital facility which sustained more damage, the newer clinic survived in relatively good condition.
Leaders from Adventist Health and the community reopened the clinic with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday, December 20. The reopening took place as access was restored to the part of Skyway (one of the main roads to Paradise) on which the clinic is located.
Healthcare Finance noted that the Feather River Health Clinic is one of the first businesses to return to Paradise. The main hospital, also expected to return to business, will take longer to reopen due to fire damage to part of the building and severe damage to surrounding infrastructure.
Feather River Health Center offers a wide range of outpatient services including family medicine, general surgery, dental, neurology and pharmacy.
“We are focusing our attention to support the immediate and long-term recovery of our associates and their families. We have informed them that it will be at least a year or more before many services are restored, and longer before they reach their former scale. We are working diligently to help associates find new opportunities elsewhere within Adventist Health. Our hope and intent is to place all of those associates who are willing to relocate somewhere within Adventist Health, and to work with those who cannot relocate to find connections locally with other organizations. When the time is right and as services return, we encourage those who wish to return to the community to come back,” said a statement from Adventist Health addressing the future of their operations in Paradise.
The system raised $6.5 million to help employees affected by the Camp Fire. It is also helping to support local relief efforts for the community.
Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit network of hospitals, clinics, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities serving more than 80 communities across the western United States and Hawaii. The healthcare system is affiliated with the Adventist Church.
