Venetie’s new health clinic
January 16, 2015Categories:
After 10 months of construction efforts, the community of Venetie will open the new Myra Roberts Health Clinic on January 21. Construction was performed using local carpenters and laborers under the direction of ANTHC’s Division of Environmental Health and Engineering construction superintendents, managers and engineers. “We are so excited, we can’t wait to move in,” said Margo Simple, a longtime community health practitioner in Venetie. The new 2,269 square-foot clinic replaces a much smaller log-constructed building which has served as the clinic for more than 20 years. The new clinic is equipped with fully piped water and sewer services and features two exam rooms, a dental operatory, a behavioral health office, a lab/pharmacy room, and sleeping quarters to house visiting traveling physicians, dentists and other specialists. The new facility also boasts full access to Telemedicine services and electronic health records. Work on the clinic will continue in 2015, and includes the design and construction of an energy-efficient heat recovery system, which is projected to save the community money. “The heat recovery system is expected to provide more than 90 percent of the heat needed for the new clinic,” said Craig Wood, ANTHC Health Facility Project Manager. “That will save the community a lot of money in operating costs.” The village council partnered with the Denali Commission, the Department of Health and Social Services, the State of Alaska, Indian Health Service, and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority to complete the facility.