In July of 2008 we opened the doors to our new LEED® Gold certified building.  LEED is the USGBC's leading rating system for designing and constructing the world's greenest, most energy efficient, high performance buildings.

The AVHC is the first Community Health Center in California to be awarded the LEED Gold certification. A local company, Verdier Architects, was chosen as the design team to meet the vision “Light is the Theme”. “The maximization of daylight and views from the windows was really important to us for the wellness of both patients and health care professionals”, said Judith Dolan, Director of the AVHC. The AVHC Board also required a high standard of energy efficiency and green features in the new building. Verdier Architects had to meet specific prerequisites and criteria to attain LEED certification through their design adherence to regional/renewable materials, water use reduction, interior air quality, non-volatile organic compound paint, a 22kW photovoltaic rooftop array and many additional green requirements. Kevin Gilleran, LEED AP, of Gilleran Energy Management acted as LEED consultant on the project.

The project consists of a one-story addition of about 4,775 square feet to the Anderson Valley Health Center plus approximately 450 square feet of renovation to the previously existing clinic, which was constructed in 1983. The new structure houses state of the art dental services, mental health and substance abuse services, a multipurpose room, records storage and office spaces, and alternative medicine services. In addition, a new 1,288 square foot Ambulance Services facility houses the Anderson Valley Volunteer Ambulance and EMT staff. The expansion was undertaken by Nonella Construction Company of Santa Rosa who used best practices to ensure the use of sustainable materials and for construction waste management to prevent job-site pollution.

The ground breaking took place in July 2007 and the Anderson Valley community raised $1.3 million, including a matching grant from the Tides Foundation for $250,000.00 that launched the funding process. The Board of AVHC worked hard to raise the capital as well to obtain donations of original artwork, furnishings and sustainably harvested and milled redwood.

Building operations are nearly 40% of the solution to the global climate change challenge,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “While climate change is a global problem, innovative non-profits like AVHC are addressing it through local solutions.”