Parking options changing as work begins on Whiteside clinic expansion in Rock Falls

ROCK FALLS – As promised at the beginning of the year, the Whiteside County Health Department began construction Monday on another expansion of the federally funded Community Health Clinic at 1300 W. Second St.

Thanks to a $1 million grant, a new building west of the dental clinic will house four suites for optometry services, which are being added to the physical, mental and dental health services now offered, WCHD CEO Cheryl Lee said in January.

The front of the building is being redesigned, so as to create one main, more secure entrance, and a canopy that will protect patients being picked up and dropped off from inclement weather will be added, Lee said. Clinical services also are being expanded, and a larger, more unified waiting area also will be built.

Money needed that is not covered by the grant will come from American Rescue Plan Act funds.

To accommodate the construction, starting March 11, patient parking temporarily will be divided into three main areas, according to Assistant Director Cory Law and a news release from the department. Some parking will be in the employee parking lot north of the clinic. People will enter the lot just south of the Avenue G bridge and follow the signs, and will enter the clinic through Door 6 on the Rock River side of the building.

Parking also will be available in the lot south of the building, at the intersection of West Second Street and 12th Avenue. Those who park there can enter through Door 1. Accessible parking will be available in front of the building, on West Second Street across from Door 1 and in designated areas in the north employee lot.

The clinic primarily serves the county’s low-income population. Fees are calculated based on income, and people are treated regardless of their ability to pay.

It has been steadily expanding and adding services since becoming a federally funded, regional health care center, and has seen the number of patients it serves also increase. In 2022, it served 11,000 people, Lee said.

The latest expansion and addition of services is all part of an effort to assess and meet the changing medical needs of Whiteside County, which is dealing with, among other issues, an aging population, an increase in chronic diseases in younger people and a shortage of people who can treat them, Lee has said.

Call 815-626-2230, go to whitesidehealth.org, or follow the clinic at @WhitesideCHC on X for updates.