"We want to provide a one-stop shop to make life a little easier for them," Jane Prather, service line director for Women's Health, said in a press release. "Our goal is to facilitate convenient and coordinated healthcare where they can get consecutive healthcare appointments made to have all of their healthcare needs met in one stop."

The center will offer care in "one swoop," Prather said, by offering healthy women's services that include pre- and post-menopause consultation, an OB/GYN practice, urogynecology, cardiovascular screening, PAD screening and holistic health.

Prather said the best-case scenario would be for all departments to coordinate with the patient and their needs. She explained that, ideally, if a patient calls to set up an appointment with their doctor, that office can tell the patient to get specific tests done and help arrange those appointments before they step into the doctor's office.

"That way the doctor can have the test results ahead of time," she said.

The resource center, the first piece of the puzzle, will give visitors access to books on holistic health treatments, acupuncture, menopause, cancer, osteoporosis, self-esteem and dieting, among other things. The resource center, on the first floor of the Gateway Building, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday until year's end. The hours will be extended after the first of the year.

Visitors can sit, read, access the Internet and soon will be able to borrow books to take home.

"We opened up this wall on the first floor," Prather explained. "A lot of people coming into this building don't know that this is here."

Health and wellness classes will be offered in the resource center conference room as well as support group meetings.

Medical Director of Women's Health Dr. Andrew Lin said the resource center is for all ages and that the Center for Women's Health helps in the transition between seeing a pediatrician and menopause.

Lin said that NorthBay has had an OBGYN office, but that women needed so much more.

"Offering something different is the key to the future success of the center," he said and added that the center is a work in progress and that they'll have to be flexible to adjust to the needs of the community and the changes in medical coverage at a government level. "No matter what we do, we have to make sure it's sustainable."

The resource center also has a retail boutique that is geared toward the wellness of women. It will offer items such as meditation CDs and aromatherapy.

After Jan. 1, a full-time support person will be on hand to run the resource center as well as a part-time nurse. Volunteers from the NorthBay Guild also will donate their time between the thrift shop in Vacaville and the new boutique.

In a recent survey, women wanted someone available in the center to help sift through the information. The survey also showed that they wanted a place that made them feel good and leave happy.

"It's fun to make people smile," said Patricia Dennis, president of the NorthBay Guild. "If you can make one person smile it's worth your whole day."

The guild is still looking for volunteers at the resource center and welcomes donations such as used books, CDs, DVDs, and books on tape that would contribute to the needs of the resource center.

Donations can be dropped off at the NorthBay Guild Thrift Shop on Main Street in Vacaville during the community's Merriment on Main celebration Dec. 1 or brought directly to the center at the Gateway Building in Fairfield.

"We have libraries throughout the county, but none offers public access with health as a specialty," Prather said. "We want to offer a comfortable place where anyone can come in and learn more about health options."

More information is available online at www.northbay.org under Health Care Services and Women's Services.