Proposed health clinic in Minnedosa will cost $2.5M
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2016 (3626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Approximately 40 people turned up to get their first look at a proposed new clinic in Minnedosa Wednesday night, according to the community’s economic development officer Vern May.
The state-of-the-art clinic will cost $2.5 million to build, according to May, who added that $1.1 million has already been secured from community clubs, neighbouring municipalities and not-for-profit organizations.
The clinic’s steering committee hopes to raise an additional $750,000, leaving approximately $650,000 to be borrowed in the form of a mortgage.
The clinic, which will be called the Dr. Ajai Khandelwal Primary Care Centre, will be 4,800 square feet and includes 10 examination rooms, a treatment room and a procedure room on the main floor, while also providing approximately 800 square feet of leased office space to Prairie Mountain Health.
May expects the facility to operate as a non-profit, community-owned clinic with doctors paying a rental fee to work out of the new space. While the details of the agreement with Prairie Mountain Health are still being negotiated, office space for community health workers and a nurse practioneer is expected to generate additional revenue to offset operational costs.
Practicality was paramount when considering the design, scope and size of the building, May said.
“We’re not building a Taj Mahal,” he said. “It’s a building that is going to give us capacity for the needs that we have now, as well as give us room to grow.”
Minnedosa has struggled to recruit doctors to the community recently.
The basement floor plan includes a suite that features two bedrooms, as well as a living room and kitchen.
May said that will help attract student doctors, locums and serve as intermediate accommodation for recruited doctors while they examine the housing market.
The clinic is an attractive piece in the community’s recruitment and retention portfolio, he said.
“At one point earlier this year, we were down to one doctor on duty,” May said.
“We have seen the imminent peril of our doctor roster in Minnedosa.”
That peril has created a sense of urgency in the community, according to May, who expects to have shovels in the ground by next spring.
“Our team has no tolerance for long delays. Taking ownership of our own future needs to be a priority. We don’t want to wait for someone to do this for us. We’ll do it ourselves.”
» ctweed@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @CharlesTweed