Our History
About CommuniCare+OLE
Established in 2023, CommuniCare+OLE is the result of a union of two health centers with deep roots in their respective communities and reputations for providing high-quality primary care to all, regardless of insurance or ability to pay: OLE Health of Napa and Solano Counties and CommuniCare Health Centers of Yolo County. Below is our history prior to merger.
1972
Two small volunteer health centers open their doors
Driven by farmworker advocates and forward-thinking vintners, Clinica OLLE opened its doors at the Rutherford Information Center to provide healthcare to Spanish-speaking migrant workers. The small clinic was staffed mostly by volunteers or providers on loan from the local hospital.
Inspired by the clinics helping those struggling with substance use in the Haight-Ashbury, Dr. John Jones saw an opportunity to help his community, and the Davis Free Clinic was born. It began by offering limited services with part-time hours. Services quickly expanded to include women’s health, perinatal care, and pediatrics.
1975 – 1985: Making Moves!
The next decade is marked by growth and new locations.
With a slight name change, Clinic OLE moved into a newly renovated space in the La Luna building in Rutherford, and by June 1976, Clinic OLE had received sufficient funds from the California Rural Health Program to hire three paid staff members: a director, a family nurse practitioner, and an assistant.
The Davis Free Clinic now occupies three rented houses in downtown Davis, with different services being offered at each location.
A fire destroyed the Clinic’s facility in Rutherford, causing $65,000 in damage and making the La Luna building clinic inoperable. Thanks to quick action by the board, OLE had a new temporary home within 10 days and was able to resume services in space loaned to us at the Veteran’s Home. Then, in November 1980, St. Helena Hospital loaned OLE a modular unit, allowing operations to resume in Rutherford.
The modular unit was relocated to Yountville, near the Town Hall, where it would remain for 11 years. The name changed to Community Health Clinic OLE to underscore the expansion of services and commitment to serving the entire community.
The renamed Davis Community Clinic moved from its three locations to a former grocery store, allowing all services to be offered in one place and accommodate 10,000 patient visits per year.
1986
Community support for Community Clinic OLE is formalized, and the OLE Health Foundation is born
1988 – 1994
Satellite Clinics Take Orbit – and new services are offered
John H. Jones Community Clinic in West Sacramento opens its doors and begins offering substance use treatment.
The Davis Community Clinic in Davis, and Salud Clinic in West Sacramento begin offering dental services, and by 1993, dental services expanded to Woodland.
Community Clinic OLE opened a satellite location in St. Helena.
Management of Salud Clinic in West Sacramento and Peterson Clinic in Woodland was assumed.
The Napa Clinic opened at 935 Trancas Street, across from Queen of the Valley Hospital.
1995 – 2002
New names, more locations, and investments in administration
The name CommuniCare was adopted to describe the family of health centers that included the Davis Community Clinic, Hansen Family Health Center, Salud Clinic, and satellite locations located throughout the Yolo County area.
Dr. Robert Moore was hired as Community Clinic OLE’s first full-time physician and would go on to become its first medical director.
The Davis Community Clinic and CommuniCare’s administrative offices moved into a modern facility north of Sutter Davis Hospital.
Community Clinic OLE established part-time clinic at the Calistoga Elementary School in conjunction with the Calistoga Family Resource Center.
The clinic on 1141 Pear Tree Lane opened its doors, which increased clinical space from 9 to 20 exam rooms.
2005 – 2009
Designations as Federally-Qualified Health Centers, services for the unhoused, the first merger, and accolades.
Clinic OLE became a federally qualified health center — the only nonprofit community health center in Napa County. In November that same year, Sister Ann Community Dental Clinic and Community Health Clinic OLE merged into one organization, bringing dental services to patients in Napa County. In 2007, those services are offered in Calistoga as well.
CommuniCare became a federally qualified health center and starts garnering awards.
Community Clinic OLE develops a relationship with the Napa Shelter and begins offering services there.
The National Association of Community Health Centers awarded CommuniCare with the Migrant Health Center Outstanding Service Award.
Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society selected CommuniCare as recipient of the 2009 Medical Community Award.
2014 – 2021
New Facilities, new names, and meeting a global pandemic head-on.
A brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, Hansen Family Health Center, opened in Woodland, replacing the Peterson Clinic.
Community Clinic OLE officially becomes OLE Health and opened its first site in Solano County at 470 Chadbourne Road in Fairfield followed in 2018 by its second location in Solano County at 1101 B. Gale Wilson Blvd. in East Fairfield.
Family Wellness Center opened in Woodland to provide expanded behavioral health services for youth and families and in August 2020 the offerings expanded to include dental.
OLE Health opened its South Napa Campus at 300 Hartle Court in Napa, its largest facility at 29,000 square feet, which significantly expanded capacity to provide services in Napa County.
CommuniCare Health Centers was recognized as the top Yolo County healthcare organization.
When COVID-19 hit our communities, food insecurity skyrocketed, and we responded by partnering with Grocery Outlet to provide groceries for more than 1,000 families each week for 11 weeks. Today, food distribution continues, being offered monthly to anyone who needs it in the community.
After years of planning, the Garden & Outdoor Classroom installation at Hansen launched, producing 2,000 pounds of produce in its first year.
OLE Health hosted its first mass COVID-19 vaccination event and for the next seven months proceeded to conduct weekly vaccine clinics and provide more than 40,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to our communities.
The newly renovated Davis Community Clinic opened.
CommuniCare Health Centers and OLE Health Merge to Create CommuniCare+OLE
October 1, 2023
CommuniCare Health Centers and OLE Health Merge to Create CommuniCare+OLE
June 2024
CommuniCare+OLE is named by Senator Bill Dodd as California Nonprofit of the Year
CommuniCare+OLE is named by Senator Bill Dodd as California Nonprofit of the Year
October 1, 2023
CommuniCare Health Centers and OLE Health Merge to Create CommuniCare+OLE
About CommuniCare+OLE
Established in 2023, CommuniCare+OLE is the result of a union of two health centers with deep roots in their respective communities and reputations for providing high-quality primary care to all, regardless of insurance or ability to pay: OLE Health of Napa and Solano Counties and CommuniCare Health Centers of Yolo County. Below is our history prior to merger.
Key Milestones for OLE Health
It wasn’t that long ago that low-income, uninsured individuals had nowhere to go in Napa County to get care. In January of 1972, a local farmworker named Placido Garcia asked the Organizacion Latino Americana de Liberacion Economica (O.L.L.E.) why Napa didn’t have a clinic while nearby Healdsburg did. That simple question planted the seed for an idea that would grow into a nonprofit health system across Napa and Solano Counties that we called OLE Health.
- September 17, 1972 Clinica OLLE opened its doors at the Rutherford Information Center staffed mostly by volunteers or providers on loan from the local hospital.
- September 1975 With a slight name change, Clinic OLE moved into a newly renovated space in the La Luna building in Rutherford.
- June 1976 Clinic OLE had received sufficient funds from the California Rural Health Program to hire three paid staff members: a director, a family nurse practitioner, and an assistant.
- September 16, 1980 A fire destroyed the Clinic’s facility in Rutherford, causing $65,000 in damage and making the La Luna building clinic inoperable. Thanks to quick action by the board, OLE had a new temporary home within 10 days and was able to resume services in space loaned to us at the Veteran’s Home.
- November 1980 St. Helena Hospital loaned OLE a modular unit, allowing us to resume operations in Rutherford.
- 1983 The modular unit was relocated to Yountville, near the Town Hall, where it would remain for 11 years. We changed our name to Community Health Clinic OLE to underscore the expansion of services and our commitment to serving the entire community.
- 1986 The informal support from community leaders was formalized by the formation of the OLE Health Foundation, which raises money to support OLE Health’s operations.
- October 5, 1993 We opened a satellite clinic in St. Helena.
- June 1994 The Napa Clinic opened at 935 Trancas Street, across from Queen of the Valley Hospital.
- 1995 We welcomed our first full-time physician, Dr. Robert Moore, who became medical director.
- 1999 We opened a part-time clinic at the Calistoga Elementary School in conjunction with the Calistoga Family Resource Center.
- August 27, 2002 The clinic on 1141 Pear Tree Lane opened its doors, which increased clinical space from 9 to 20 exam rooms.
- November 2005 Sister Ann Community Dental Clinic and Community Health Clinic OLE merged into one organization, allowing us to provide dental services.
- 2005 Clinic OLE became a federally qualified health center — the only nonprofit community health center in Napa County — and a model for community clinics throughout California.
- 2006 OLE Health started providing regular medical services at the Homeless Shelter.
- March 2007 Dental services began being offered at our expanded Calistoga location.
- November 2015 We officially changed our name to OLE Health and opened our first site in Solano County at 470 Chadbourne Road in Fairfield.
- 2018 OLE Health opened its second location in Solano County at 1101 B. Gale Wilson Blvd. in East Fairfield.
- June 3, 2019 OLE Health opened its South Napa Campus at 300 Hartle Court in Napa, our largest facility at 29,000 square feet, which significantly expanded our capacity to provide services in Napa County.
- March 2020 When COVID-19 hit our communities, food insecurity skyrocketed, and we responded by partnering with Grocery Outlet to provide groceries for more than 1,000 families each week for 11 weeks.
- February 2021 OLE Health hosted its first mass COVID-19 vaccination event and for the next seven months proceeded to provide more than 40,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to our communities.
Key Milestones for CommuniCare Health Centers
In 1972 UC Davis physician Dr. John Jones opened the doors to the Davis Free Clinic in a basement on L Street. Today, his legacy of delivering comprehensive health services in a safe, welcoming environment spans five Yolo County health centers, three satellite sites, and hundreds of dedicated professionals serving one in nine Yolo County residents, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
- 1972 The Davis Free Clinic began offering limited services with part-time hours. Services quickly expanded to include substance use treatment, women’s health, perinatal care, and pediatrics.
- 1985 The renamed Davis Community Clinic moved from three rented houses in downtown Davis to a former grocery store, allowing operations to consolidate everything in one location and accommodate 10,000 patient visits per year.
- 1988 Substance use treatment was offered at the John H. Jones Community Clinic, our first satellite location in West Sacramento.
- 1990 Dental services began being offered at the Davis Community Clinic in Davis, and Salud Clinic in West Sacramento.
- 1993 Within three years, dental services expanded to include Peterson Clinic in Woodland.
- 1994 Management of Salud Clinic in West Sacramento and Peterson Clinic in Woodland was assumed.
- 1995 The name CommuniCare was adopted to describe the family of health centers that included the Davis Community Clinic, Hansen Family Health Center, Salud Clinic, and satellite locations located throughout the Yolo County area.
- 1997 The Davis Community Clinic and CommuniCare’s administrative offices moved into a modern facility north of Sutter Davis Hospital.
- 2007 CommuniCare became a federally qualified health center.
- 2008 The National Association of Community Health Centers awarded CommuniCare with the Migrant Health Center Outstanding Service Award.
- 2009 Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society selected CommuniCare as recipient of the 2009 Medical Community Award.
- 2014 A brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, Hansen Family Health Center, opened in Woodland, replacing the Peterson Clinic.
- 2018 Family Wellness Center opened in Woodland to provide expanded behavioral health services for youth and families.
- May 2019 CommuniCare Health Centers was recognized as the top Yolo County healthcare organization.
- 2019 Mental Health Navigation Center began providing services in 2019 and expanded its breadth of offerings in early 2020.
- 2020 After years of planning, the Garden & Outdoor Classroom installation continued through the global COVID-19 pandemic producing 2,000 pounds of produce in its first year.
- February 2020 The Respite Center opened and offered services daily for unhoused individuals in Davis, Monday-Saturday.
- August 2020 The new dental office opened at the Family Wellness Center in Woodland.
- 2021 Completion of the three-year process to earn a Service Enterprise certification designated CommuniCare as among the top 11% of nonprofits nationwide in volunteer management and organizational performance.
- February 2021 The newly renovated Davis Community Clinic opened.