A very important meeting was held this past Monday, June 1, and all went very well for the Greenville Wellness Center project (GWC). The local healthcare district board responsible for the old Indian valley hospital (IVH) that we hope to use for the GWC is now solidly behind the project. Getting this support from the board is a huge step forward. We now begin the next phases of the project, which are analyzing the IVH facility, completing the business plan, and beginning to seek funding for remodeling. We are forming a business alliance with Plumas Rural Services (PRS), a local non-profit agency that provides many health & wellness service to local residents. PRS is very interested to conduct some of their programs at the GWC, and brings many resources to the project. In particular, they have an excellent grant writer on staff, and are very skilled with the process of obtaining both public and private funding for community services. GWC and PRS are hoping to obtain federal stimulus and/or healthcare funding to remodel the IVH and create community based healthcare programs. It will be a perfect marriage of non-profit and private enterprises that both serve local the local community, in addition to drawing out of area “health tourists” to improve the overall local economy. Judy and KD are also plan 2 or more trips to Washington DC in the near future to follow up on funding the GWC through stimulus $$. Meeting the right people and taking them to lunch can sometimes make all the difference when fed $$ is in play.
We are feeling a growing mission in this process. We have come to realize that the ultimate goal of the GWC is no less than reform of the American healthcare system. We see the GWC as a model for many other American communities, both rural & urban. Ours is a bottom-up process, not one that is top-down. We hope to be part of a growing movement where all of us work to reclaim control of our individual healthcare with simple, low tech, and low cost processes that focus as much on prevention as treatment. In doing so, we will relieve some of the current stress on the mainstream healthcare system, and this relief may be sufficient for “the system” to initiate it’s own reforms. The best news, is that this is a process we can initiate by ourselves, wherever we are, and regardless of our age, wealth, or current health. While co-operation from the powers that be would be helpful, we do not need permission from these powers to initiate this process. it is a true grass roots movement that can begin one person and one group of persons at a time.
Good Health, simply done!TM
The Greenville Wellness Center will provide health and wellness services to local residents and regional ‘health tourists’. The immediate target clients will be local residents who desperately need more affordable healthcare options, including fitness services, alternative therapies, health education, and thermal baths. The long term target clients will be regional health tourists who want to receive these same wellness services in such a quiet and peaceful location as the Indian Valley. Regional marketing will focus on the Baby Boomer generation, whose enormous purchasing power will bring great financial rewards to any enterprise that offers effective relief from the aches and pains of aging. The GWC may eventually serve as a model for cost effective community health services in rural regions, representing an ideal interface between non-profit public services, and for-profit private enterprise.
The Greenville Wellness Center (GWC) will provide community health and wellness services, attract regional health tourists, serve as a sustainable healthcare model for other rural communities, and offer health education services to create jobs & stimulate the local economy.
Summary of business development
The GWC development goal is to achieve “occupancy” on or before the time schedules of this business plan. The term “occupancy” includes both overnight and day use of the facilities and services offered by the GWC. GWC will have two separate areas of development:
1. Health & Wellness Center – Will include services that:
a. create and maintain a healthy lifestyle,
b. address physical pain or illness through low cost non-medical, non-invasive “alternative” therapies (both in house and via a outreach program)
c. help educate local residents about healthy lifestyles, and
d. attract regional health tourists who use the GWC facilities and services
e. attract local and out of area students who will study “alternative and preventative” healthcare towards becoming professionals in the field.
The Health & Wellness Center will provide important health services to the local community, which also represents the “low hanging fruit” for initial occupancy and revenue. Regional marketing of Health & Wellness services will focus on attracting health tourists who are seeking pain relief. These health tourists will be traveling from Chico or Reno (2 hours), Sacramento (3.5 hours), and the Bay Area (5 hours). Special events will be an important tool to attract regional clients of all ages and achieve maximum occupancy. As the GWC will be a fully ADA accessible facility, the prime regional target health tourist is a retired, mildly disabled, Baby Boomer who has free time, a reasonable disposable income, and perceives a pain free lifestyle as a high priority.
Health & Wellness services can be developed incrementally, and with minimal capital costs. Operations will begin with basic services, including private hot water soaking, and increase with demand and revenues.
Adding a Recreation Hot Springs to the GWC will require significant capital investment, and will require development within a short timeline to achieve sufficient revenues for a reasonable ROI. Development of a Recreational Hot Springs should occur only after the GWC has its Health & Wellness services operating smoothly, and with a positive cash flow.
Historical
Many cultures, including traditional Native Americans, place a high value on using thermal water to achieve health benefits. The most significant use of thermal water for therapy was the Roman culture, where public thermal baths were a standard urban fixture. Most baths were also attached to gymnasiums for healthy exercise, with massage available on-site. The word “spa” is an acronym for the Latin/Italian words “Salud per Aqua”. In this sense, The Greenville Wellness Center is adopting an historical model for community health services that functioned for over a 1,500 years for the Roman Empire (including the Eastern Empire of Constantine). It is thus a time tested model for sustainable, low technology driven, community healthcare.
Using hot thermal waters for health and recreation continued to be a popular public activity through the early 20th century. “Taking the waters” was a phrase of common usage until the post WWII period of American history. But there has been a recent resurgence in “Hot springing” which is now a substantial, and growing sub-culture in North America (described later in the Marketing sub-section: Recreational Hot Springs – page 7)
IVH Facility:
Background – The Greenville Wellness Center will be located on the grounds of the now vacant Indian Valley Hospital (IVH) that rests on the outskirts of Greenville, CA. The hospital facility consists of an 11,000 sq ft. single story main building, plus one attached, and two detached separate service buildings that collectively total approximately 2,000 sq. ft. The facility will include approximately 2.75 total acres of land including undeveloped lawns and paved parking areas. It is accessed through Hot Springs Road, and is only ½ mile from state Highway 89 that passes through central Greenville The facility is serviced by PG&E for electricity, and for local water and sewer by the Indian Valley Community Services District.
The IVH is a concrete block structure constructed in 1954 having a flat roof and heated with baseboard electrical space heaters. A geothermal well was drilled in 1982 and a geothermal heating system was installed in 1983. Summer cooling is provided by individual window mounted room air conditioners. The IVH was designed with significant disabled access infrastructure. This includes wide hallways with handrails, and wide 42″ doors to many rooms. There is not one stair or ramp in the facility. ADA regulations did not exist when the IVH was constructed. Some infrastructure does not conform to ADA standards and must be upgraded.
Current condition – The IVH facility has receive no regular maintenance during the past 2 years, and maintenance during the final two years of the hospital’s operation (2005 & 2006) was sporadic. In particular, most of the kitchen infrastructure has been removed, with the exception of the range hood and grease trap. The geothermal heating system is reported to have significant problems, and was not functional during the late stages of the IVH operation. Also, the Geothermal heating system was designed as a centrally driven hot water – air exchange, with ducting placed on and entering the facility through the roof. This has created problems with leakage and water damage. Thus, a thorough facility analysis is required to determine what systems are fully operational, what infrastructure can be operational on a cost effective basis once repairs or remodeling is completed, and what infrastructure must removed and/or replaced. The current status of the facility cannot be fully stated until a complete assessment has been made by specialists.
Geothermal Waters – While the geothermal water has previously been used only in a closed loop heat exchange system for heating the facility, chemical analysis of the water indicates a low salinity sodium chloride type composition that is similar to the nearby Indian Valley Hot Springs. This indicates that the waters of the IVH geothermal well should be suitable for theraputic and recreational use. Such applications of these geothermal waters will require a new disposal permit from the CA State Water Control Board, and a rigorous system of testing by GWC staff to monitor pool water quality and discharge water quality to insure safety for GWC clients and compliance with discharge regulations.
Community information:
Greenville is located approximately 90 miles dues east of Chico CA, and 100 miles north-northwest of Lake Tahoe. Greenville, with a population of 1,500, is the largest town in the Indian Valley (total population – 3,500). The Indian Valley is 3,500 ft. above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains in the 6-7,000 ft. range. Mt. Lassen (10,500 ft.), is the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range is 60 miles north-northwest of Greenville, and is the source for the geothermal waters of the Indian Valley. Greenville is an unincorporated city in Plumas County (total population – 25,000). Quincy, the county seat (pop-5,000), is 23 miles south, and the resort town of Chester (pop-2,500) near Lake Almanor, is 25 miles to the north. Greenville is a two hour drive from Chico and Reno, 3-1/2 hours from Sacramento, and 4-1/2 hours from the Bay Area. There are no elevations higher than Greenville (3500 ft.) when traveling from Chico, Sacramento, or the Bay Area. From Reno, only the 5000 ft. Beckworth pass must be crossed, but this is seldom impacted by winter snow storms (compared to the 7,200 ft. Donner pass on interstate 80, which is frequently closed by storms in winter)
Greenville experiences four distinct seasons. Summers are mild with daytime temperatures seldom reaching 100 degrees F, followed by cool nights in the 50′s. Winter high temperatures average in the low 40′s, with lows averaging in the high 20′s. Winter rain and snow is frequent, but snow accumulations are moderate due to the good solar exposure of Greenville , and the Indian Valley elevation being lower that the surrounding mountains. (significant snow accumulations usually begin at the 4 – 4500 ft. elevation).
Local industries are timber, watershed management, agriculture (mostly ranching), and tourism. Lake Almanor, located 9 miles from Greenville, is the largest recreational and tourist attraction in Plumas county. Lassen National park, 60 miles away, is the largest regional tourist attraction.
