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Health care providers see healthy growth
2/3/2010 11:18:55 AM
Splash Editor
At the time of the city's incorporation at the turn of the decade, a survey of residents gave the community's medical and dental services a failing grade.
In a notable improvement, a similar survey conducted online by The Splash last month boosted the area's health services' grade to a solid B average.
In the last decade, the community's services have greatly expanded from the urgent care clinic available before the city's birth, said Doug Smith, Liberty Lake's planning and community development director. The city is home to a variety of medical providers, dentists, an optical office, chiropractor, physical therapists and more.
Smith describes the health community's growth as "organic," with many of the dental and medical practitioners choosing to work in or near their city of residence.
That growth is continuing with a number of planned and recently completed expansions of dental and medical offices. Here's a look at some of the developments in the health community:
Dr. Ashley opens Family Medicine Liberty Lake
Ashley
A local resident is establishing a new practice, Family Medicine Liberty Lake, next door to Medicine Man Pharmacy.
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Located at 23801 E. Appleway Ave., renovations are on schedule for a Feb. 15 opening, said Dr. Susan Ashley. Her practice will focus on providing old-fashioned medical care with the newest in medical technology, she said.
Her decision to build a practice was partly based on the need for more primary-care physicians in the area, said Ashley, who has been working at First Care and Valley Hospital.
Family Medicine Liberty Lake is utilizing a portion of the building previously occupied by Eclectic Gifts and sharing space with Medicine Man to create an area with two exam rooms, an office and waiting area.
With visibility along Appleway and a pharmacy next door, Ashley said it's a perfect location for a physician's office. Ashley said her office will offer flexible hours, accept walk-in patients and make house calls when needed. As the demand for patient care increases, she said she may expand her practice by hiring additional help or recruiting a partner.
"Patients can get a large part of their medical care conveniently in one location while receiving excellent care," Ashley said.
Liberty Lake Health and Wellness Center planned
A nearly 26,000-square-foot health and wellness center is under development in the Liberty Lake Commons.
The primary tenant of the building will be Columbia Medical Associates LLC, a physicians' group of 33 doctors, who collectively own the group, and 40 other health care providers, according to a recent report in the Spokane Journal of Business.
The $5 million project, developed by Baker Construction at 1334 N. Whitman Lane, could also include physical therapy and medical imaging services.
About 4,000 square feet of space still is available. Once ground is broken, the building should wrap up in six to eight months.
A representative from Columbia Medical Associates, who did not return calls seeking comment, told the Journal of Business that the group plans to recruit four additional providers once the clinic opens in Liberty Lake. The group now includes 18 clinical locations in Spokane and Spokane Valley.
Pediatric office plans new building in Liberty Lake
Valley Young People's Clinic, which now has a satellite office in Liberty Lake at 2207 N. Molter Road, Ste. 203, is planning to construct a building this year to expand the practice.
The clinic's primary location is in the Spokane Valley, and the expansion will allow the clinic to better serve patients in the Liberty Lake community and those coming from North Idaho, said Dr. Michelle Messer, a Liberty Lake resident and physician-owner.
The clinic includes seven physicians and three nurse practitioners, but only two providers typically work from the current Liberty Lake location, Messer said. The new building, planned for 23813 E. Appleway, will allow three providers to work from the office, she said.
"We decided we wanted a building location in Liberty Lake because of the population in Liberty Lake and the family population in Liberty Lake," said Messer, adding that the new location will be similar in size to the Spokane Valley office.
The move also allows the office to own rather than lease space, she said.
The Liberty Lake office should open this fall, Messer said.
"It's supposedly a satellite office, but it's not going to feel like it," she said.
Below: Dr. Cliff Cullings recently moved to a new building, shared with Dr. Simonds, where he offers general and cosmetic dentistry.
Dr. Simonds expands dental office to new building
Splash photos by Hope Brumbach
The waiting room of Dr. C. Ross Simonds shows the rustic feel of his new and expanded dental office.
Dr. C. Ross Simonds recently moved his general and cosmetic dentistry practice, Simonds Dental Group, to a new two-story building, called Aspen Ridge Plaza, at 22106 E. Country Vista Drive.
Formerly located at 23403 E. Mission Ave, Ste. C, his practice has expanded into 4,300 square feet on the entire second floor of the building, said Simonds, who lives in Spokane Valley.
The office, with a warm, cabin-like feel, offers seven chairs plus room to add one more.
Simonds employs 10, and he also has a dental associate, Dr. Amanda Roper, who works one to two days a week.
Simonds purchased the property four or five years ago for future construction, he said. The move allows him to own space for his office, and it also positions it more in the "heart" of the city, he said.
"We're going to be here long-term in the community," Simonds said.
Dr. Cullings moves dental office
Dr. Cliff Cullings also recently moved and expanded his dental practice into the first floor of Aspen Ridge Plaza, sharing the building with Dr. Simonds.
The move from 2310 N. Molter Road, Ste. 202, allows his practice to expand into 3,300 square feet and also gives him the opportunity to own the space, said Cullings, who offers general and cosmetic dentistry. The office is set up with four chairs and room to expand to seven.
Cullings, who employs five full-time and two part-time employees, called the new location "ideal" with its high visibility.
"I have room to grow,' said Cullings, who lives in the Greenacres area.
Dr. Olmstead building dental office in Liberty Lake Commons
Dr. Michelle Olmstead is planning a move for her general and cosmetic dentistry practice to a building now under construction in the Liberty Lake Commons area.
Liberty Lake Family Dentistry may open next month in its new location, 1328 N. Stanford Lane. The practice now is located at 2207 N. Molter Road, Ste. 200.
The 6,500-square-foot building also will offer 1,000 square feet of tenant space, said Kim Mehaffey, the project manager.
The move will allow Olmstead to expand from six to eight chairs and own the space, Mehaffey said.
Olmstead, who lives in the Spokane area, employs nine in her Liberty Lake office. She also operates a second location in north Spokane.
- Splash Staff Writer Tammy Kimberley contributed to this report.