Less than three months after it opened, the Western Sierra Medical Clinic in Penn Valley is already expanding hours and will soon be adding more services. Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Heather Lucas-Ross, says starting next week medical services will also be available on Thursdays, in addition to Monday through Wednesday….

click to listen to Dr. Heather Lucas-Ross

Dental services will still be available Monday through Wednesdays. And Ross says they hope to add medical specialties currently not available, later in the year, including pediatric and women’s health services, as well as mental health care and pain management. She says there continues to be a strong demand for general practitioners, but there’s a chronic shortage in the region, as well as other parts of the state…

click to listen to Dr. Heather Lucas-Ross

Several senior communities, including Lake Wildwood, are near the clinic. The Penn Valley clinic opened with about 1500 Penn Valley-area residents receiving care at the Grass Valley Clinic. The new clinic’s hours are 8am to 5pm. It’s the sixth for Western Sierra and its third in Nevada County. They also recently opened facilities in Auburn, its first in Placer County. And a Kings Beach clinic will open soon.