MARSHALL - It was a new beginning, and one that marked a new stage in development for Affiliated Community Medical Centers, Dr. Ronald Holmgren said. Holmgren, the president and CEO of ACMC, was in Marshall on Wednesday morning to help break ground for a new 45,000 square-foot medical clinic. ACMC staff and administrators, as well as representatives from the city, were present at the ceremony.
"We've largely outgrown our current facilities, and we would like to have a one-site approach," Holmgren said of the project.
The new clinic site will be located on Carlson Street, next to K-Mart and south of ACMC's current clinic location at the Market Street Mall. ACMC announced it had purchased the land in September.
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Dr. Ronald Holmgren, president and CEO of Affiliated Community Medical Centers, addresses people gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday at the site of a new ACMC clinic in Marshall
Holmgren shared some of the details of the clinic during the groundbreaking ceremony. The new clinic will be two stories tall, and gather ACMC's primary care physicians and specialists in one place. The facility will also include urgent care, an imaging center and lab space, he said. The new imaging center will add MRI to ACMC's imaging services.
ACMC will still keep its Market Street clinic, although it will no longer be the main clinic. Once the new clinic is built, the Market Street location will house support services and a sleep center, Holmgren said. The sleep center will be opening this spring.
Physicians from the ACMC in Marshall said the building project will help further ACMC's mission to provide quality care.
"ACMC came to the community of Marshall 25 years ago and we're extremely proud of the relationships we've built during this time," said ACMC physician Dr. Joe Willett. The new clinic will provide a good location and facilities to help continue those relationships, he said.
Outpatient facilities like the clinic can help provide quality medical care at a more affordable cost to patients, Holmgren said. New facilities would also help ACMC to recruit physicians and specialists.
Planning for the new clinic had been going on for about two years, said Holmgren and ACMC Administrator Terry Tone. Several locations for the clinic were considered, but the Carlson Street site was the best fit.
"We had a good site, and the opportunity to use the main site," Holmgren said. The Carlson Street site also had plenty of available space for parking, was conveniently located near Minnesota Highway 23, and had good visibility.
Construction for the new clinic will begin in April, and the target date for completion will be in February 2013. Tone said projected construction costs for the project would be around $3 million.