- Details
- By Kaili Berg
On March 17, the tribal nation will begin construction on a $230 million, 185,000-square-foot facility designed — dubbed a health village — to serve Native American and non-Native patients on its reservation in Shasta County, Calif.
Glen Hayward, Executive Director of Health Services at Redding Ranchiera, told Native News Online that the center will not only treat disease but aims to prevent it.
“If our people end up with diabetes, then we failed you as a healthcare organization, and we should have prevented that,” Hayward said. “This whole-body treatment with integrated care is going to be a significant change in the way we deliver care to our people.”
Native Americans have long experienced lower health status when compared with other Americans, according to the Indian Health Service. The life expectancy for Native Americans is 5.5 years less than all races in the U.S. population.
“We did a retrospective look at the lifespan of our tribal members, and it was significantly lower than the national average,” Hayward said. “Native Americans suffer from chronic diseases more than any other race. We knew we had to change the way healthcare was delivered, and that’s where the vision for our tribal health village came from.”
The health village will include a full-sized indoor gymnasium, fitness and training spaces, natatorium, and hydro and physical therapy facilities, as well as a 95,000-square-foot spa, which will offer massages, facials, and intravenous therapies of vitamins or IV fluids.
While the health Vvllage primarily focuses on serving Native American patients, it will also be open to non-Native patients and employees of the tribal health system.
The project, which has been part of the tribe’s strategic plan for more than two decades, is entirely self-funded by the tribe, with no reliance on casino revenue, Hayward said
Beyond Western medicine, the village will incorporate traditional Indigenous healing practices. Native healers will be available for scheduled appointments, providing patients with access to ancestral wellness methods alongside modern medical care.
A community garden and orchard will also serve as a source of fresh, organic food — and healing,
“Gathering and wellness, gardening and volunteering to help the garden, that’s healing for our elders, and it’s exercise,” Hayward said. “It’s offering different ways for our people to get together, gather, and return to their traditional way of eating.”
The project is expected to be completed by early 2027. Once operational, it will replace the current Redding Rancheria Tribal Health Center on Liberty Street, which serves approximately 8,000 patients.
The existing Churn Creek Healthcare Center will relocate to the Liberty Street location, expanding services for Medicaid and Medicaid patients and those under Partnership HealthPlan of California.
“We know that healthcare has to be fixed, and we think this health village is the way to do that,” Hayward said. “A healthier community benefits us all.”
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