Ready to open: Confluence Health is growing in Moses Lake; 7,000-square-foot clinic complete

MOSES LAKE — A new Confluence Health facility opens for patients Monday.

Gregg Fletcher, vice president for the Confluence Health-Moses Lake Clinic, said Confluence outgrew its Hill Street clinic.

“By moving those providers here, it frees up some space at our main clinic,” he said. “It gives us some space at the main clinic to recruit for primary care (medical providers).”

Fletcher said the new, 7,000-square-foot clinic on Yonezawa Boulevard initially will house physicians in three specialties.

“Our general surgeons will be here for their outpatient work, our optometrist will be here, a visiting provider from Wenatchee for vascular surgery, and the vascular ultrasound tech will all be in this building,” Fletcher said.

Initially, the building will house four physicians, he said.

The total project cost was about $3 million, which includes construction, equipment and furnishings.

The building also will have room for other specialists who visit Moses Lake, Fletcher said.

Lane Heikel, senior project manager with Confluence Health, said it’s the first new building Confluence has built in Moses Lake in a long time.

“This is a fun project for us, because this is our first roundup (new construction) in Moses Lake since I think we first came to Moses Lake,” she said. “Brand new, not someone else’s space that we’re remodeling, not our own space that we’re remodeling — brand new from the dirt up.”

The new clinic has 12 exam rooms, Heikel said, and it was designed to provide flexibility.

“We tried to make them all standard size, fairly large in size,” Heikel said.

The building was designed to make remodeling easier as different physicians use the space. In addition, there’s more room for Confluence specialists who travel to Moses Lake to consult with patients.

“We do have room for visiting doctors to see more patients here now, because they don’t have to share just one room,” Heikel said. “We’ve got more spaces for them to all rotate through and see more people.”

“(Specialists) come different days of the week, different days of the month,” Fletcher said. “Vascular (surgery) will be here the most, but if we have somebody else who needs to move from (Moses Lake) clinic or come from Wenatchee and expand days, they can use space.”

There’s also a “procedure room,” for outpatient treatment, and a space to conduct tests, like the ultrasound. The new exam rooms are about 120 square feet.

“Much larger than what they’re working out of right now,” Heikel said.

It’s also better for patients, allowing more room for them to bring someone with them, she said. The lobby has big windows, high ceilings and features a lot of wood.

“I love the wood ceilings,” Heikel said. “This is something new for Confluence. We don’t have a lot of natural wood in a lot of our spaces. It’s a fun showcase for us.”