Kaiser Permanente last week broke ground on an 84,000 square-foot medical office building being built on the northwest corner of Wildomar Trail and Interstate 15.
“With this medical office building, it’s creating improvements for the road, which is Wildomar Trail, and that will help spur other development across the street from it and also in the same general area on that side of Wildomar Trail,” Mayor Joseph Morabito said. “And the city and the community are very excited for the additional medical services that Kaiser Permanente is bringing to our region.”
The new building will replace Kaiser Permanente’s existing facility on Inland Valley Drive and will have nearly double the capacity and expanded services including adult primary care, pediatrics, vision care, dermatology, imaging, mental health services and physical, occupational and speech therapy. It will also have a cafe and pharmacy on site.
“It’s going to allow for people in South County not to have to drive for those services,” Robert Blair, Chief Administrative Officer at Southern California Permanente Medical Group, said during a March 28 beam signing event.
The sentiment was echoed by Morabito, who said he and his wife often drive to Riverside, Fontana, Moreno Valley and Corona for their own healthcare needs.
“So if some of those services can be right here in town, then we won’t have to drive,” he said. “It’s just right there for us, and that would be the same for many other residents of Wildomar and the local area and surrounding cities.”
Kimberly Davidson, economic development director and public information officer for the city, said the city was looking forward to being able to serve more than just the healthcare needs of those coming to the new facility.
“The city of Wildomar and its residents are very excited for these expanded medical services,” Davidson said. “There is something called medical tourism, and so we’re hoping, like Mayor Morabito said, to not only keep Wildomar residents here in town for their medical services, but to also attract from other areas so that people can come into Wildomar, get their medical services with Kaiser [Permanente], and hopefully stay for a fantastic bite to eat at one of our great restaurants or maybe fill up with some gas before they head out of town.”
Diane Summers, the director for adult primary care in South County, said Kaiser Permanente decided to move forward with this project due to the population growth in Wildomar and surrounding communities.
“We started in Wildomar in 1998, January 1998, with a handful of doctors,” she said. “And over time, we’ve added service. … So it was an opportunity for us to add services so that we could provide health care and health services closer to home for many of our members that live here in south county and the city of Wildomar.”
During construction, Summers said the existing building will continue to provide services to patients without interruption. She said the new building is expected to be completed for medical staff to begin moving in next February with a tentative public opening set for May 2024.
“We know these are much needed services and look forward to Kaiser [Permanente] continuing to grow and thrive in our region,” Morabito said.
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