Doctor breaks ground on new health clinic

Ground was broken last Thursday on a new health clinic that is expected to meet the needs of Donley County citizens for the foreseeable future.

Dr. John Howard is building the facility on land adjoining what is coming to be known as the Medical Center campus  – the area on Hwy 70 North which includes the Medical Center Nursing Home and office of the Donley County Hospital District along with future offices for the state departments of health and human services and the future home of the local ambulance service.

Construction of the health clinic is expected to take 180 days, and Howard says he believes local people are excited about the project.

“People are looking forward to this,” he said. “I’ve received only words of encouragement.”

The 5,500 square foot clinic will be a frame building with a brick and stucco veneer and a hipped roof. The design will be similar to the two nearby buildings already under construction by the hospital district.

Howard says his Clarendon Family Medical Center needs the new home because it has outgrown its current facility at the corner of US 287 and Orpe Street. The old building is not easily accessible to the handicapped, has only three exam rooms, and is facing other constraints of space.

The new building will have six exam rooms for use by Howard and his staff along with three additional exam rooms that could be used immediately by a visiting doctor – such as a cardiologist – or could eventually be used if the clinic grows to need a second physician’s assistant.

Each exam room is designed with the patient’s privacy in mind. The entrances to the rooms are located away from main corridors, and each room will have a curtained area so patient’s can undress in private. Walls throughout the building will be insulated for soundproofing purposes.

The building will include an X-ray room, lab, and a minor treatment room located just a few yards away from the new Associated Ambulance Authority facility, which is now being constructed nearby. If personnel in the health clinic determine a patient needs to be transported to Amarillo immediately, the close proximity of the ambulance service will be invaluable.

The health clinic will have an ample waiting area with an adjoining play area for children. An injection room will be available for allergy shots, eliminating the need for those patients to wait for an exam room to open up.

Telemedicine capabilities will also be available in the new clinic, which will enable Howard and his staff to consult in real time with hospitals and doctors in Amarillo or elsewhere. The building will be wired with a T1 line – a form of high-speed Internet telecommunication.

Howard says the new facility will be a much more workable space and should meet the needs of the community for the foreseeable future.

The building has been designed by architect Leslie Rohan of Panhandle, and Cruz Construction of Amarillo is the general manager for the project.

Cruz oversaw the recent renovation of the Medical Center Nursing Home and is working on the new Community Services Building and ambulance facility for the hospital district.

Howard says by using the same construction firm as the hospital district he hopes to keep the cost of the project down. The district sold Howard the property on which his clinic will sit, and his patients will use drives and parking areas maintained by the district.

“It’s an example of us working together,” Howard said. “If I tried to do this by myself, I wouldn’t be able to do as much.”

The doctor also likes the idea of having the community’s other health providers near his new clinic.

“I think the trend has been to consolidate. Just look at Amarillo with the hospitals, the cancer center, etc. To provide health services in a central location makes sense.”

Howard says he already has a lot of contact with residents in the nursing home, and having his clinic close by will be a benefit to them. The doctor also said the proximity of his clinic will be beneficial if the hospital district pursues future plans to build a nearby assisted living center.

In January of 1999, Howard broke one national trend – that of doctors not coming to live in small towns – when he moved here with his family. Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospital closed the Donley County Rural Health Clinic later that same year, and Howard went into business for himself and took over the clinic.

Today, with financing from the Community Bank and the Donley County State Bank, Howard is paying for the new clinic himself.

The doctor won’t put a price tag on the new building except to say, “It’s the largest investment I’ve ever made.”

Howard is proceeding with the new clinic even though the current world situation could affect him directly. He has served as a doctor in the Marines and is still a commander in the Navy Reserve.

He is keenly aware that he could be called to active duty but says that  he is not altering his plans and that the last thing Americans should do is give in to fear.

“In spite of the intense world situation, I’m as committed as ever to continuing my practice here,” he said. “The current war and possibility of recession don’t change Donley County’s need for expanded health care capabilities.”