Royal City clinic opens Monday

Location remodeled

ROYAL CITY — Royal City welcomes the opening of its only clinic in town Monday.

The clinic is located at 103 Camelia St. N.W. It is a branch of Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.

Hospital District No. 7 Board Chair Deb Murphy said the hospital district wanted to bring an organization into Royal City who could provide residents consistent, quality health care.

"Wenatchee has that reputation," Murphy said.

The Royal City Clinic is in the same location of a former clinic, The Clinic at Royal City. Murphy said the former clinic was open sometimes just one day per week, and the hours of operation were inconsistent. The district asked the organization to make some changes to its services, and when no changes were made, the district withdrew funding, she said.

"They tried their best," Murphy said. "They just couldn't make a go of it."

Last year the hospital district approached the medical center to ask whether it would open a location in Royal City. Moses Lake Clinic, another branch of Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, is providing staff support at the new clinic.

Clinic Administrator David Olson said the clinic is open three days per week until April 16, when it is open five days per week. Nurse practitioner Nick Mason agreed to work at the clinic from April through September, unless the position is filled earlier, he said. Mason lives in Royal City in summer and Arizona in winter.

"We don't have a permanent provider signed on just yet," Olson said.

Renovation projects cost $30,000, including new carpet and paint, new walls and a modification of a bathroom for wheelchair accessibility, he said. Before the renovation, a person would need to get out of the wheelchair to enter the bathroom.

"Now there's a bathroom large enough for somebody to go in with a wheelchair," Murphy said.

The Royal City Clinic is going to offer X-rays, which the former clinic did not offer. An X-ray machine and equipment for the clinic cost roughly $90,000, Olson said.

Murphy said although some specialties are not offered at the clinic, it is going to be beneficial for everyday needs. Quite a few elderly people in Royal City need services regularly such as blood drawing or allergy shots.

The hospital district plans to help in any way it can, although the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center does not need the district's money, Murphy said.

One idea is to begin applying the district's money toward other health care needs in the taxation area, she said.