Polson Health ready to open new clinic

POLSON – Soon, more area patients who must brave long drives out of Lake County to receive specialized out-patient care can stay closer to home.

Polson Health, a department of Kalispell Regional Healthcare, will soon open its new clinic near Highway 93 west of the Polson Walmart.

“We’re getting specialists here on a consistent basis so patients don’t have to travel,” said Polson Health’s Dr. Dan Rausch. “We can bring the specialists to the patients instead of having patients, who are often older, drive to Missoula or Kalispell, especially in bad weather.”

He said there are no dermatologists in Polson. And Polson health will offer a Pain and Wellness clinic that includes traditional treatments as well as acupuncture and chiropractics.

Center officials also designed the 10,800-square-foot building to be more patient friendly by increasing privacy and keeping support staff members in better positions to help patients and doctors.

“Our new treatment pods are smaller and more private and gets (the patients) out of the busyness of the hallways,” Rausch said.

“That leaves the nurses’ station more open because they are the ones who make things work.”

The new facility will not have any overnight beds, Rausch said.

It is designed to give specialists more room to perform in-office procedures and get patients in and out more efficiently, he said.

It is a great alternative to long drives and long waits.

“The procedure side of the clinic will be for outpatient recovery,” Rausch said. “A patient wants to see his doctor, not ER guys they don’t know. They can also come here for minor procedures and not wait.”

Clinic officials want to quash the rumors that Polson Health’s new facility will compete with St. Joseph and St. Luke hospitals.

“We work well with other hospitals,” said Jim Oliverson, clinic spokesman. “We don’t want to compete with them. We love what they do and we need their support.”

When the first construction phase is completed in January, patients can start receiving cardiology, diagnostics, X-Rays, phlebotomy and echo-cardiograms.

When the second phase is completed in the spring of 2015, the clinic will feature Gastroenterology and dermatology.

A specialized travel medical van will make regular visits to provide nuclear medications (scans), mammograms and bone-density tests.

A clinic officials say other medical-related office buildings will soon surround the new clinic near Mission Valley Aquatics and Valley Glass.

“We have to collaborate with other facilities to give patients what they need,” Rausch said.

“These expanded office procedures are things specialists do in their own offices. We’re just giving them more space and cutting down on the wait time.”

For years, many of our Lake County patients have asked us to provide more services closer to their homes, said Polson Health Administrative Assistant Robyn Lane.

That encouraged KRMC to open Polson Health in 2010.