CVCH to celebrate new clinic with grand opening Friday, Oct. 20

Time of Grand Opening corrected

CHELAN – After a long-awaited year of construction, Columbia Valley Community Health (CVCH) will be celebrating with a Grand Opening Friday, Oct. 20, from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m. Guest speakers will include Congressman Dave Reichart, State Representative Mike Steele and City of Chelan Mayor Mike Cooney, according to CVCH CEO David Olson.
The new facility had an anticipated completion time of July, but was delayed due to a cold, wet winter. Regardless of any setbacks, the clinic offers a number of improved facilities that the previous office spaces did not. The new space offers 12 exam rooms, which offer more space to prevent crowding for patients. One particularly notable feature of the new patient exam rooms is two out of three rooms do not include exam tables, instead they offer a reclining chair for the patient. These rooms are dedicated as talking/listening rooms, “it’s more comfortable for the patient, and they feel more like a partner in discussing the care that they need,” explained Olson.
Other upgrades offered in the new facility include two additional dental chairs, for a total of eight dental chairs, dedicated space for behavior health counselors, and an outdoor landscaped walking track which is available to the public.
The new facility boasts increased space as it is now two and a half times as big as the previous 10,000 sq. ft. offices located on Johnson Avenue. This added space allows the opportunity for more physicians as well as beginning a residency program partnered with the University of Washington and Lake Chelan Community Hospital. While the program is still about two years away, according to Olson, the facility will be ready to cater to the interns.
The build expenses were estimated around $11 million, and using $7 million saved by CVCH with a $1 million federal grant, only $3 million of the total cost had to be borrowed for the construction and startup of the new building.
Friday, Oct. 20 CVCH will celebrate with a dedication and Grand Opening. The celebration will be open to the public and will offer food, speeches, and information. To RSVP for lunch please visit:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/registereventReg?oeidk=a07eenr4qi09f4b4989&oseq=&c=&ch=
“CVCH is “not owned by doctors or a company,” concluded Olson, “it’s owned by the community … we have 11 doctors and some of them live here in Chelan.”