As clichéd as it might seem, don't blink if you're cruising Highway 299 in search of the community of Round Mountain.

You just might miss the town 28 miles northeast of Redding.

No offense to the town's good people, but there isn't much to Round Mountain.

That is, there's not much except for a do-it-all nonprofit medical and community center in the final stages of a $6 million expansion.

That's right, while other areas close community clinics, the clinic in Round Mountain is more than doubling in size. The project adds 12,000 ecologically friendly square feet to the existing 8,000-square-foot Hill Country Health & Wellness Center.

"It means everything to the community. It's really the hub, the heart," said Lynn Dorroh, the center's chief executive officer. "There is more human activity here than anywhere else in the community."

The center started as a health clinic but has expanded into dentistry and mental health.

Meanwhile, facing a mountain of red ink, Sacramento County has closed three of the six clinics it used to operate to serve the poor and a fourth might fall to the same budget ax. Yolo County is considering cuts to its last-resort medical operation.

Of course, comparing the Hill Country center with county clinics isn't exactly an apples-to-apples matchup. While both serve those without means to pay, the Hill Country clinic also serves those who can.

Dorroh said the center will have a chance to prove that preventive medicine can reduce the long-term costs of medical care.

Rural communities generally have far fewer health care options to offer residents. The UC Davis School of Medicine is training primary care physicians willing to work in rural settings and giving rural patients access to urban specialists through video conferences.

Telemedicine, which could save patients a drive of three or more hours, "has really filled a very important void," said Dr. Donald M. Hilty, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Under the direction of Dr. Thomas S. Nesbitt, executive associate dean of the medical school, it offers thousands of telemedicine consultations annually.

In addition to the wide-ranging medical care, the clinic serves as the community library and has become the de facto town hall for the communities of Round Mountain, Montgomery Creek, Ingot and Hillcrest.

"We are the only game in town for several square miles," Dorroh said. "This is where the community turns to."

The center had a humble start in 1985 in a double-wide trailer. That and a second double wide added later were destroyed – along with most of the community – in the 1992 Fountain fire.

On June 19, the surrounding community of 4,600 is expected to celebrate the grand opening of the sparkling expansion, which has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, D.C..

The center features solar energy generation, solar water heating, rainwater landscape irrigation, ample natural light and sustainable building material.

Dorroh said the center helps make the community ready for growth.

"It's pretty clear that Round Mountain is going to be more of a bedroom community for Redding," she said. "It was a seize-the-moment kind of opportunity to build something we would grow into."

Call The Bee's Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269.