The Sac and Fox Black Hawk Health Center Expansion Project has been approved by the Business Committee with construction beginning in mid November, weather permitting.
Sax and Fox Principal Chief Justin Wood said this expansion will go from 12,000 sqft to 36,000 sqft, bring in new services like optometry, a drive through pharmacy, and consolidate the physical therapy and occupational therapy into the same building as the clinic.
“It’s quite a large expansion,” he said. “It’s going to bring in-house a lot of the things that we have to send out of house.”
Wood said the clinic will be open throughout construction, and hopes the first stage of construction is finished by the beginning of 2022.
“We’re building around it, so there will be no interruption of service,” he said.
Wood said the first stage includes construction of the parking lot and the addition that the clinic will be moving into. Initially, patients will be provided with temporary parking nearest the front entrance doors.
The cost of the project is $14 million. Indian Health Services funds have been dedicated to design and construct the expanded clinic building. Federal transportation funds are being provided to fund the design and construction of the paving and parking lot portion of the project.
The contract was awarded to Lambert Construction Company of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Studio 45 Architects of Tulsa is the project architect and EST, Inc. of Oklahoma City provided the engineering design of the paving and parking lot. Once construction has started the general contractor has 19 months to complete the project.
“The plans for this were actually created for this before I came on,” he said. “We’ve been talking about this from almost a decade.”
Wood said when he came on he decided there would be no more changes and that it was time to start.
“It’s going to be the nicest facility in the area,” he said.
Wood said this new facility will make the experience as a whole better.
“It allows us to keep people in-house and not have to send out as many referrals,” he said. “The more we can do within their visit here, the better. That’s easier on our elders, easier on our tribal members to get them less stops.”
Wood said there will be extra room and added comfort.
“Hopefully it’s a more peaceful experience and more enjoyable,” he said.