Construction Starts at One Community Health, Hood River
Health center remains open for business as usual with patient services and patient parking unaffected.
A rendering of the future One Community Health, replacing the current health center in Hood River.
Hood River, Ore., May 6, 2019 – One Community Health is excited to announce that construction for its new health center in Hood River has officially begun. The Federally Qualified Health Center, located at 849 Pacific Avenue, has hired Bremik Construction of Portland to build what will be a modern, proactively designed health care center to support its team-based approach to integrative care. The new building will eventually replace the current one, with an estimated completion date of Summer 2020.
As the construction unfolds over the summer months and beyond, health center hours, patient services and patient parking will remain unaffected. Staff members have been asked to park offsite or walk/bike to work. This will open up parking for patients and minimize construction-related impacts.
“At One Community Health, it will be business as usual—with the obvious exception that we have a construction project in process and lots of activity around the current facility,” says Rich Rice, One Community Health’s facilities manager. “That said, this is construction we are talking about, and so precautions have been made and people need to pay attention. As the health and safety of all patients, staff and those in the surrounding neighborhoods are our top priorities, it’s important for anyone coming near or onto the premises to be aware of the building project, use common sense, and follow all safety and hazard signage.”
One Community Health chose Scott Edwards Architecture to design the Hood River replacement facility. At 35,500 square feet, the future building will be more than double the current structure, which now sits at 14,000 square feet. With a growing patient population, the health center is in dire need of expanding its physical footprint to ensure access to care.
“This is no small project,” says Belinda Batcha, OCH’s interim CEO. “A lot of thought and careful planning has gone into making this facility a place where we can serve in our mission now and over the years to come. The demand is there, and this facility has been a long time coming. We’re very grateful it’s officially ‘go time’ and appreciate all those who’ve helped us get to this point—from the USDA, the project’s lender, to the City of Hood River and even a few of the neighboring business owners allowing our staff to share their parking lots. Every little bit of support plays a role in this project’s success.”
For inquires about this this project, contact Rich Rice, facilities manager, directly: 541.308.8393, rrice@onecommunityhealth.org. Online construction updates may be found here.
About One Community Health
One Community Health (OCH) is a nonprofit, Federally Qualified Health Center with locations in The Dalles and Hood River, Ore. Formerly known as La Clínica del Cariño Family Health Care Center, Inc., it was founded in 1986 and, today, has evolved into an official Patient-Centered Primary Care Home. OCH currently provides services to more than 12,000 patients. In addition, OCH excels in providing educational programs and support that reflect its integrated approach to health and wellbeing. Dedicated to advancing health and social justice for all its community members, OCH serves patients from the Mid-Columbia River Gorge Region: Wasco, Hood River, Klickitat and Skamania Counties.
Media and Storytelling Inquiries:
Katie Roberts, communications developer
303-709-2912
kroberts@onecommunityhealth.org