New clinic coming to Grace

At last week’s City Council meeting, the council was joined by Kent Loosle, CEO of the Caribou Medical Center, members of the CMC team, and a number of doctors living in Grace to announce the acquisition of land for a planned clinic coming to town sometime in the near future.  “We’ve met with the architects.  We want to design the facility through the winter, then begin construction when the weather changes in the spring,” Loosle said.

According to a press release, as well as comments made during the meeting, CMC anticipates holding a groundbreaking ceremony in early 2025.  The current plan is to give the health-care providers living in Grace the spotlight at the groundbreaking.  Loosle called attention to the benefits of having local residents provide the health care to patients.  “I’ve been a lot of different places, and it’s not often that you get a chance to have your neighbors be the ones taking care of you.  It’s also great that people will be able to stay here in town and have access to health care—to all the services that people need,” he said.   

The clinic will be located just south of the city park in Grace, where the old Blue Bell/Lunch Express restaurant was in the past.  

The press release states: “The announcement of the new Grace Clinic comes at a time during which CMC is making positive changes to its organization and culture, which changes are reflected in the care of its patients and commitment to the communities of Caribou County as well as neighboring counties.  As always, CMC is committed to providing healthcare and improving access to healthcare wherever possible.

CMC proudly offers care in the following service lines: 24/7 Emergency Room Services; Primary Care; Surgical Services including Orthopedic, Pain and Spine, Urology, Women’s Services, Inpatient Care, Swing Bed, Chemotherapy, Imaging, and Laboratory.  We hope to expand these service lines in the future as the needs of Caribou County residents grow and change.

CMC is working hand in hand with local leaders, including Grace Mayor Jackie Barthlome, to make sure the building plans best encompass the needs of the community, including ensuring the walkways and parking lots are safe for residents.  Mayor Barthlome wants to keep Grace citizens’ best interest in mind throughout the project and has said she is ‘so excited to see the clinic brought to our community so we can bring care closer to home for our citizens.’

The entire team at CMC is excited to continue to serve the community of Grace with this new facility.”

During the meeting, Mayor Barthlome noted that there were at least 33 people living in the Grace area who worked at the hospital.  Some of them would presumably be moving to the clinic, depending on how employee resources were allocated.  Firm plans for the staffing and administration of the clinic have not been finalized or released at present.

Councilmember Curtis Toone, who also serves on the CMC board, stated that “the best thing we did as a board was to bring Kent Loosle on board.  As many as 700 hospitals in towns our size have been shut down, but he is doing wonderful things here.”

Loosle demurred, stating, “It’s a whole team effort.  Everyone here has helped get us to where we are.  Not everyone has the understanding that a small hospital can provide very good care.  I believe that when the care is more personalized, it’s better care.  That’s why we want to support our local services as much as possible.”

The CMC has been conducting need surveys over the last years, gauging what kinds of service expansions make the most sense to local patients and clients.  The expansion into Grace is in line with the CMC’s goals of creating a service environment that is responsive and localized to the needs of all the members of its community.  

Kent Loosle said, “We plan to provide the same great care to all of the areas we serve.  We are proud to serve our neighbors, our friends, our community every day as our healthcare needs evolve and change.  This new chapter reflects our plans to grow and provide additional services.” 

As the project moves forward, we will update readers on any changes to the specifics or calendar of the new clinic.  A clinic is a vital service to any community, and along with the Event Center, which is beginning initial construction soon, Grace is rapidly adding to its infrastructure inventory.