Dr. Shahzad Jahromi and Tyler Hedden (center) with Kaiser Permanente share duties in cutting the ribbon on the Orchard Plaza building in Fresno. Photo by Ben Hensley

Kaiser Permanente Fresno celebrated the ribbon cutting Friday of its new Orchard Plaza Medical Offices, marking the health system’s largest expansion in the region in 20 years.

The four-story, 146,000-square-foot complex, located at 7150 N. Corporate Dr., will officially open its doors to patients on Oct. 6. The project broke ground in December 2023 and is designed to meet both growing medical demand and sustainability goals, furthering the provider’s vision of proactive health care.

The facility is LEED-certified and includes solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and drought-tolerant landscaping, along with walking paths and bicycle facilities.

“This expansion is an investment in our community’s health and in the future of Fresno,” said Tyler Hedden, Kaiser Permanente Fresno senior vice president and area manager. “Today we are privileged to care for more than 161,000 Kaiser Permanente members residing in five counties. In 2024, our community health program provided more than $2.7 million in grants to Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties… we are on track to surpass that amount in 2025.”

The provider’s presence in Fresno reaches back nearly four decades, beginning in 1986 with an outpatient care center near Fashion Fair Mall. The Fresno Medical Center opened in 1994 with medical offices, followed by a 169-bed hospital facility and emergency department in 1995. Since then, Kaiser has expanded to add facilities in Clovis, Selma and Oakhurst.

The new plaza consolidates and expands services including adult and family medicine, pediatrics,  behavioral health, endocrinology, oncology, ophthalmology, rheumatology, lab and imaging, infusion services, health education and pharmacy.

 

“It’s an exciting time for our patients, but this expansion is equally exciting for our amazing, passionate physicians and employees,” said Dr. Shahzad Jahromi, physician in chief and chief medical officer at Kaiser Permanente Fresno. “When we open the doors on Oct. 6, we begin providing patient care and we’re particularly excited about offering expanded adult and family medicine and pediatric services in one location.”

Jahromi, who has served with Kaiser for over 20 years, said the organization’s physician base has grown from fewer than 200 when he began to over 320 today.

The Orchard Plaza facility alone will employ around 400 care providers, including 100 physicians.

Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson, whose district includes Kaiser Permanente Fresno’s main medical complex, as well as Orchard Plaza, said the project represents an investment beyond just the delivery of immediate access to health care.

“It’s an investment in the social health of our community,” he said. “With all of the community service they do, their social outreach programs, coming out to teach other people how to invest in their health — it’s an investment in our professional workforce and our educational workforce here in Fresno.”

The event also drew a throng of community leaders and elected officials, including Rep. Jim Costa, Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, Fresno City Councilmembers Mike Karbassi and Nelson Esparza, Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua, Selma City Councilmembers Jim Avalos and Santiago Oceguera, and representatives from the offices of Reps. Tom McClintock and Vince Fong and state Senator Shannon Grove.