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State-of-the-art Redding VA Outpatient clinic opens on Knighton Road

Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight
·2 min read

The new, state-of-the-art Redding VA Outpatient clinic has opened at 3455 Knighton Road.

The new clinic was to have opened this summer. Delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the opening until Monday, officials said.

None of that mattered to Gordon Beck. The Shingletown resident came to the new center on Tuesday for a medical appointment. "The old one wasn't that bad," he said of the clinic's former location at 351 Hartnell Ave. "This is so huge. This is gorgeous," said Beck.

Patient Gordon Beck waits for a ride after an appointment at the new, state-of-the-art Redding VA Outpatient clinic that opened at 3455 Knighton Rd. on Dec. 13, 2021.
Patient Gordon Beck waits for a ride after an appointment at the new, state-of-the-art Redding VA Outpatient clinic that opened at 3455 Knighton Rd. on Dec. 13, 2021.

At 77,000 square feet, the new center is about 60% larger than the former location, David Stockwell, director of the VA Northern California Health Care System, said at the clinic's groundbreaking in 2019.

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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a $14.4 million lease for the Knighton Road clinic, which is located across the street from the Redding Veterans Home.

The new clinic employs 225, including 27 physicians and nurse practitioners. Officials expect the facility to serve about 15,000 patients annually. It will offer primary and speciality medical care as well as mental health services.

The Redding architectural firm of Nichols, Melburg & Rossetto Architects + Engineers won the national competition to design the clinic.

New specialty services include allergy and immunology, nephrology and rheumatology in addition to telemedicine rooms.

Maurice Johannessen, right, stands with shovels next to Candi Tucker, administrative officer at the Redding VA Outpatient Clinic, during the groundbreaking ceremony, Wednesday, May 29, 2019, for a new veterans clinic on Knighton Road.
Maurice Johannessen, right, stands with shovels next to Candi Tucker, administrative officer at the Redding VA Outpatient Clinic, during the groundbreaking ceremony, Wednesday, May 29, 2019, for a new veterans clinic on Knighton Road.

The health center's prior location at 351 Hartnell Ave. in Redding has been closed and its services transferred to the Knighton Road facility.

Audiology, eye care and dental services will continue to be offered at the Cypress Avenue VA clinic location at 760 Cypress Ave., across from Redding City Hall. Some services, including physical therapy, have been relocated to the Knighton Road facility from the Cypress location.

Former Republican state Sen. and former Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs Maurice Johannessen owns the Knighton Road property and had sought to have a clinic constructed on the land.

Johannessen made his living in real estate before being elected to the Redding City Council, where he served as mayor from 1988 until 1989.

David Stockwell, medical center director (right) of the VA Northern California Healthcare System. Medal of Honor recipient James Taylor is speaking at the podium.
David Stockwell, medical center director (right) of the VA Northern California Healthcare System. Medal of Honor recipient James Taylor is speaking at the podium.
The Record Searchlight reporting staff as seen clockwise from top left: Nada Atieh, Damon Arthur, Michele Chandler, David Benda, Mike Chapman, Ethan Hanson and Jessica Skropanic.
The Record Searchlight reporting staff as seen clockwise from top left: Nada Atieh, Damon Arthur, Michele Chandler, David Benda, Mike Chapman, Ethan Hanson and Jessica Skropanic.

Michele Chandler covers city government and housing issues for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @MChandler_RS, call her at 530-225-8344 or email her at michele.chandler@redding.com. Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: State-of-the-art Redding VA Outpatient clinics opens