Columbia Falls Clinic has a new home
<p>Nurse practitioner Laura Hall, left, listens to nurse Carey O'Farrell as they prepare for a Monday full of patients at the newly opened Columbia Falls Medical Clinic on the U.S. 2 strip.</p>
The Columbia Falls Clinic is open for business in a new 8,021-square-foot building on the U.S. 2 strip.
Founded about 30 years ago by Drs. Douglas Pitman and Chet Hope, the clinic left its location on Nucleus Avenue and reopened at its new location on June 28.
Dr. Eric Brandeberry, who joined the clinic about seven years ago, cited cramped space, "less than ideal" heating and cooling and parking limitations on the steepest section of Nucleus Avenue as some of the reasons for the move.
Kalispell Regional Medical Center, which owns the Columbia Falls Clinic business, broke ground for the new building on U.S. 2 last fall. Weather and construction issues delayed the expected December opening.
Announced plans to include CT scan and MRI equipment in the expanded clinic will also be delayed, Brandeberry said.
"It's kind of a staged process," he said. "We don't want to overpopulate the valley with expensive equipment."
The clinic will offer upgraded digital X-ray equipment connected to KRMC that will provide "an instant read from radiologists in Kalispell," he said.
With additional staff and space, Brandeberry and nurse practitioner Laura Hall expect to shorten waiting times and save people gas time for trips to Kalispell.
With additional staff and possibly a third doctor, the clinic could consider offering urgent care on weekends.
The Columbia Falls Clinic will occupy about half the new building. Professional Therapy Associates will move into another part of the building later this summer, Brandeberry said.