"On any given day we might see a construction worker with a hand injury, a child with a high fever, a mountain biker with a broken wrist, or a visitor who has discovered that skiing fast is considerably easier than stopping," Dr. David Lemak, medical director of urgent care at Tahoe Forest Health System, told the Sierra Sun at the opening of the system's new Sierra Center.
Those patients now go to 11230 Donner Pass Road, in the Gateway Center next to Safeway, in the building Truckee knew for years as the Rite Aid. Six services moved in on October 26. Moving them under one roof also changed when they're open, and for most errands the new hours matter more than the new address.
Nearly three years of an empty storefront
The building's last few years explain why the opening matters. Here's how it went:
- December 2023. The Sierra Sun reported that the Truckee Rite Aid would close on December 10, after the chain filed for Chapter 11 that October.
- May 2024. Tahoe Forest announced a long-term lease on the building, which is about 21,000 square feet. It hadn't yet decided which services would move in.
- July 28, 2025. The Town of Truckee issued the building permit, and construction started right away. By that October, crews were doing demolition, under-slab utility work, sidewalk and parking prep, and a roof replacement.
- Summer 2026. Tahoe Forest's published schedule had estimated completion for this summer.
- October 2026. The center got its Certificate of Occupancy and saw its first patients on October 26, three days after a ribbon-cutting on Friday, October 23.
Tahoe Forest says the new space has room for about 18,000 more patient visits a year, which it puts at a 12 percent increase in community access. At the opening, Nevada County District 5 Supervisor Hardy Bullock said he feels secure and optimistic about the region's health care system, according to the Sierra Sun.
Six services, one address, six different schedules
All six now share one front door, but each keeps its own hours. Here's what's at 11230 Donner Pass Road as of publication, based on Tahoe Forest's location pages:
| Service | Phone | Hours at Sierra Center |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent Care, walk-in | (530) 550-6748 | Every day, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Tahoe Forest Pharmacy | (530) 587-7607 | 365 days a year, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Laboratory | (530) 582-6510 | Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. |
| Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation | (530) 582-3478 | Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Wellness | (530) 587-3769 | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Tahoe WoRx Occupational Health | (530) 582-3277 | Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
Only two of the six are open seven days a week: urgent care and the pharmacy. The other four keep weekday-only schedules, so a Saturday stop at Gateway Center covers less than the building's size suggests.
The pharmacy gained hours with the move
The move made the biggest difference at the pharmacy. Tahoe Forest's pharmacy page now lists it as open 365 days a year, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and "no longer closed for lunch." A midday pickup on a workday used to mean timing around a closed window. Now the counter stays open through the noon hour, right next to the grocery store many people already visit that week. The same page lists flu shots.
One thing hasn't changed. Prescriptions are handled through RxLocal, and Tahoe Forest says it doesn't use MyChart for them. Anyone who expected the move to put refills inside the patient portal will find the same app as before.
Lab draws now depend on the day
The lab split is the easiest change to get wrong. Weekday lab work, Monday through Friday, now happens at the Sierra Center. That covers adult and pediatric blood draws, EKGs and non-blood specimen drop-off. The laboratory page has online booking links and a scheduling line at (530) 582-6510.
Saturday is different. Tahoe Forest still lists Saturday lab hours, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Tahoe Forest Hospital on Pine Avenue. So if you have a standing lab order, the address depends on the day: Gateway Center on weekdays, the hospital on Saturday mornings. If you're heading out with a weekend order in hand, check the address before you leave.
Ski season adds two more urgent care doors
Urgent care at the Sierra Center is walk-in. Tahoe Forest's MyChart tool, called On My Way, lets you reserve a spot in line at its Truckee, Tahoe City or Olympic Valley clinics for later the same day or the next day. For a life-threatening injury or illness, Tahoe Forest's page directs patients to the Emergency Department or 911.
The Gateway Center clinic is one of several. Tahoe Forest runs two seasonal clinics at the resorts, open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., November through April:
- Urgent Care at Palisades Tahoe, in Olympic Valley.
- Urgent Care at Northstar, at 2104 North Village Drive, on the lower level of the Northstar Club building facing the parking lot, phone (530) 582-6594.
Those clinics are tied to the ski calendar, and the season hasn't started yet. As of Visit Truckee Tahoe's October 21 update, the targeted opening dates are:
- Northstar: November 20
- Boreal: November 20
- Palisades Tahoe: November 25
- Sugar Bowl: November 27
- Tahoe Donner Downhill: December 11
All of those dates depend on weather and snow, and terrain may be limited at first. The Truckee clinic's 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. hours stay the same all year, an hour longer at each end of the day than the resort clinics.
November 20 is also when downtown hosts the Downtown Holiday Festival and Bud Fish Tree Lighting, from 4:15 to 6 p.m., with student-decorated trees, Santa and cocoa.
Next door, Gateway Center is still under construction
The Sierra Center is the first of two Tahoe Forest projects along this stretch of Donner Pass Road. The second is the Gateway West Rural Health Clinic, a separate project at 10978 Donner Pass Road, where existing tenant space is being converted to clinics, medical services and laboratories.
The plans filed with the Town of Truckee also redo the parking:
- A new 69-space lot on the north side.
- The east lot cut from 36 spaces to 12.
- 24 frontage spaces turned into 13 parallel spots.
- Six spaces removed from the neighboring Tahoe Sierra Eye & Optical lot to the east.
The project description puts the net gain at 28 spaces. The plans also call for new driveways connecting to the neighboring medical-office lots and a wider sidewalk along the road frontage.
Tahoe Forest's October 2025 update estimated the first phase, the west side and parking, for summer 2026, with phase two in late spring 2027. Expect construction near this part of Donner Pass Road into next year, even as the Sierra Center is open and seeing patients.
At Frick n' Blazer Group, we track the details that shape a Truckee address day to day, from the closest pharmacy to which lab is open on Saturday. Whether you're weighing a home near Gateway Center or a ski-season place in Northstar, Schedule a Private Tahoe Consultation and we'll walk you through how the area works.
