The OLE Health Story
Our History
Since our inception, our services have grown to meet the expanding need. And today, as when we began, we fill a critical role for the most vulnerable in our area.
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 today we call OLE Health.
Key Milestones
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.
Today OLE Health has seven clinics in two counties, serving nearly 40,000 patients. We remain the only nonprofit health center in Napa County and the nongovernment federally qualified health center in Fairfield. We provide comprehensive services including medical, dental, optometry, behavioral health, and pharmacy across our clinic sites.
Through all our years and all the changes we’ve experienced as an organization, what will never change is our commitment to serving our community.