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Oregon health-care projects

Columbia River Community Health Services, Boardman
Grant award: $2,370,178
Architect: Pinnacle Architecture

Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Cornelius
Grant award: $12 million
Architect: Scott | Edwards Architecture

Community Health Center Inc., Medford
Grant award: $1,877,872
Architect: Kistler + Small + White Architects

La Clinica del Valle Family Health Care, Medford
Grant award: $2,965,000
Architect/Contractor: S&B James

Lane County health centers, Eugene
Grant award: $4,920,023
Architect: PIVOT Architecture

La Clinica del Carino Family Health Care, Hood River
Grant award: $5,859,886
Architect: Undetermined

Waterfall Clinic Inc., North Bend
Grant award: $1,398,625
Architect: Undetermined

Seven community health care projects are moving ahead in Oregon next year, including some that could have been stalled for years without grant awards via the Affordable Care Act.

The federal government in October awarded $250 million to support construction and renovation projects at community health centers throughout the country. Oregon received more than $31 million for seven projects.

Community Health Center Inc.’s Medford clinic has needed significant repairs for years, said Karen Elliott, CHC’s marketing director. But there are few funding opportunities for small clinics, she added.

“At a time when there is record demand for our services, we have two very old buildings that have HVAC systems that break down,” Elliott said.  “We thought we’d have to mount a $3 million campaign to redo these buildings. That (would) take years. Until the Affordable Care Act, we did not have a good resource for a grant or other funding for capital projects.”

Ray Kistler of Kistler + Small + White Architects is designing the Medford clinic and another that received federal assistance. He worked on the Medford clinic’s design for a year and a half before the project was put on hold because of a lack of money.

Southern Oregon architecture firms and contractors have been hit especially hard during the downturn, Kistler said. His design for the Medford clinic calls for rebuilding two clinics constructed in the 1950s as a uniform structure.

“If it wasn’t for these clinics, we wouldn’t have anything,” Kistler said.

Community health clinics serve low-income patients and those without access to health insurance. In some rural towns, clinic operators provide the only care for miles around. Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center operates several facilities in the small community of Cornelius, where many farm workers and day laborers live. With a $12 million grant award, Gill Munoz, CEO of Virginia Garcia, will be able to offer health, dental, medical and behavioral health services in one new building. The award covers 88 percent of the total project cost, Munoz said.

“Without the award we’d be in a … capital campaign that would take at least five years,” Munoz said. “Now we’ll have this center up and running within two years.”

The 42,000-square-foot, three-story Virginia Garcia building will be one of the first projects to revitalize downtown Cornelius, according to Sid Scott, principal with Scott | Edwards Architecture. Scott hopes to incorporate pedestrian paths and a community garden with the new building so that it is more approachable.

“The biggest challenge is not making it come across as this great big building,” Scott said. “It’s a wellness center. It shouldn’t look like a hospital; it should be friendly.”

Though Scott said his firm has seen a steady stream of projects come in this year, smaller health-care projects have been scarce. The lack of construction and renovation projects for clinics, according to Mindy Binder, executive director of Columbia River Community Health Services in Boardman, has to do with location. Large foundations often overlook rural clinics when awarding grants, Binder said, because they serve only a limited population.

But Binder’s clinic, which consists of two adjoining manufactured homes with additions, hasn’t kept up with the growing demand for care in the area. With only 5,000 square feet of space and 25 employees, Columbia River Community Health Services served 12,000 patients last year.

“We’ve had plans to build for a while, but there was just no funding,” Binder said. “We’re the only clinic in Boardman. This grant has put us over the edge and helped make this a reality sooner than anticipated.”

With $2.3 million awarded to Binder’s clinic, Pinnacle Architecture was able to start work again on a new, 15,000-square-foot building in Boardman. Architect Peter Baer said his firm has had the contract for a year and a half, but the project had stalled because of a lack of money.

“We’ve had a lot of projects like that this year where something is sitting stagnant and then stimulus monies move it forward,” Baer said. “This building will be the only medical service between Boardman and Hermiston, 45 minutes away. Some of the people who come here, mostly a farmworker population, rarely see a doctor. We’re keeping the scale down and using lots of light and natural materials so it doesn’t feel like a big medical clinic.”

The Affordable Care Act still has $750 million to award for construction and renovation projects at community health centers over the next five years. Kistler hopes the public work keeps rolling in.

“Before, our projects were 50-50 between public and private,” Kistler said. “Now it’s 100 percent public for us. It’s the only reason the doors opened this year.”