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The new Providence Alaska Eagle River Health Care Center is complete. Several medical offices have opened in the building in north Eagle River.
Star photo by Darrell L. Breese
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Construction of the Providence Eagle River Health Care Center is complete and is now open for business. The 22,000-square-foot, two-story building is located on the corner of the Old Glenn Highway and North Eagle River Access Road.
A public open house is scheduled for Oct. 16.
A few groups have already moved into the medical facility. Primary Care Associates has relocated from the Jack White Building on Eagle River Road. Providence Imaging Associates and the Alaska Women's Clinic have also opened offices in the new building.
The facility makes available an expanded range of medical services to Chugiak-Eagle River residents, offering imaging services, an outpatient laboratory, a patient service center, a primary care clinic and physician offices.
Providence Health & Services Alaska invested $6.3 million in constructing the building that sits on a two-acre parcel, according to Kirsten Kolb, public affairs specialist for communications and marketing.
“Providence studied the Eagle River market before we built, and we believe that through this project, we can enhance health care services,” Kolb said.
Joel Gilbertson, regional director of strategic development and administration at Providence, told the Alaska Star in September 2007 the new facility brings additional resources in the community. Anchorage-based specialists are able to deliver their services in Eagle River, saving locals a drive into Anchorage, he said.
Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is building a 14,000-square-foot medical center on an adjacent lot.
Mat-Su Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Elizabeth Ripley said the facility will increase access to physicians and specialists for its patients in the community.
Gilbertson said the two health centers can co-exist.
“This isn't about a competition between facilities,” Gilbertson said. “It's about providing the residents of Eagle River with top quality medical services close to home.”
Susie Gorski, executive director of the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce, of which both the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and Providence Alaska Medical Center are members, said she is not sure if having two new medical offices so close to each other is necessary.
“The upside of competition is that the public will get better services. There will be additional good jobs available locally and we're always excited about that,” Gorski said. “The downside is I haven't seen a needs assessment to see if the community can support both medical offices. You can only cut the pie so many ways.”
Gorski added that none of the local doctors she's spoken to are upset about the opening of the new medical offices.
“The doctors say their practices have a good group of clients,” Gorski said. “And the new health centers shouldn't impact them”
Burkhart Croft Architects LLC of Anchorage designed the building. Providence used contractors from the Southcentral region to complete the construction, including Eagle River's Borealis Construction Co. and Northstar Electric.
