St. Charles Facility to Offer Expanded Options for Treatment and Education
Not only is Redmond the geographical hub of Central Oregon, it is also positioned to be a regional focal point for female healthcare with the unveiling of the new St. Charles Center for Women’s Health on 5th Street in the downtown core.
The approximately 8,600 square foot center was created through the remodeling of a vacated bank branch and adjoining space, conveniently located adjacent to the Black Bear Diner restaurant, and represents a major expansion of services compared to the Ob-Gyn clinic previously located on the St. Charles medical campus.
The former bank lobby has been repurposed as a spacious reception and waiting area, with the balance of the space featuring a central station flanked by physicians offices, 14 exam rooms, including two procedure rooms and a lab. St. Charles’ leaders see the new clinic as a major step in meeting the long-term goal of providing ample future scope to partner with patients in offering more specialized women’s treatment and education options locally.
The center – designed by BBT Architects and constructed by Skanska USA – is already home to four Ob-Gyn doctors, one nurse practitioner and a certified nurse midwife, but St. Charles Medical Director for Women’s Services Dr. Barbara Newman, who led the push for the more extensive move, says the new facility aims to cater to growing further healthcare options, including contracting for specialist care and offering more outpatient procedures in-house, which could help optimize cost savings and convenience.
She said, “St. Charles has made a significant investment in women’s healthcare future and in growing that ability here.
“We have established a women’s center that is over three times the space we had previously because we care about women and women’s care.
“Women often make the major decisions about health care for their families. St. Charles acknowledges that and recognizes the need to provide a place where there can be better care; where there can be some specialists that come in, and where we can raise the level of what we do here in Central Oregon.
“We need more practitioners and providers here and the ability to keep our patients here as opposed to transporting them to Portland or Springfield for some advanced care.
“We’ve got some very wonderful doctors but we need the additional ability to reach our patients on other levels.”
Dr. Newman added that bringing in specialists and expanding staffing are the next priorities now that the facility is open, with plans in place to add more physicians, nurse practitioners, a menopausal specialist, a sexual health specialist, embedded mental health services, survivorship and lactation consultants in the coming months.
Visiting specialists will also be contracted with to consult in areas such as gynecologic oncology, sexual dysfunction and alternative medicine including acupuncture, all in one comprehensive location, to help keep patients close to their families during care and recovery.
Extensive use of floor-to-ceiling storefront-style privacy glass to the street and sensor controlled lighting throughout the clinic, together with multiple A/C zones and the showcasing of local art, adds to the airy, spacious feel as part of an overall carefully crafted, aesthetically pleasing, calm, inviting and professional patient-friendly environment.
Challenges for the contractor during construction included cutting through an adjoining CMU block wall and careful attention to floor leveling to create a smooth flow throughout the space, partly due to the former bank branch being several inches lower than the adjacent space, which was originally designed for multiple tenants.
A new multi-purpose room and adaptable lobby area will also allow for accommodating lectures, training, education and other larger community educational events focusing on a variety of women’s health topics.
Clinical Supervisor Tricia Clay said, “We draw from all surrounding communities and are now able to be even more a part of the regional community. Patients come from areas such as Burns and Mitchell, and we also have an outreach clinic in Prineville.
“It’s about having a presence and pulling people in from other communities and the expanded facilities have been well received so far.”
A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting open to the public is slated for 5:30 to 7:30pm on September 18. After the grand opening, Dr. Newman said she plans to start offering community educational events at the center.
“We are centrally located in Central Oregon and hope that all women feel comfortable visiting us for their care, for educational events and for specialist consultations when needed,” she said. “We are looking forward to being here to serve our communities for many years to come.”
She foresaw the center as becoming an integral part of the Central Oregon community, providing not only traditional obstetric and gynecological services and routine and preventative care, but also classes, lectures by visiting specialists, mental health programs and much more.
Over the years, St. Charles Health System has become recognized as the primary provider of quality health care for patients living in and around Central Oregon.
For more than 90 years, St. Charles Health System, and its associated hospitals, has provided quality health care to all those in need.
The system itself began in 2001 when St. Charles Medical Center in Bend and Central Oregon District Hospital in Redmond merged to form Cascade Health Services. In 2008, the system grew to include Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Prineville through a lease agreement. And in 2010 the organization changed its name from Cascade Healthcare Community to St. Charles Health System. The growth of the system continued in 2013 when Mountain View Hospital in Madras became part of the St. Charles family and changed its name to St. Charles Madras.
A private, nonprofit Oregon corporation, St. Charles Health System is Central Oregon’s largest employer with more than 3,200 caregivers in Bend, Redmond, Prineville and Madras combined. More than 350 medical staff members and approximately 200 visiting medical staff members also make it possible for St. Charles to deliver a wide range of excellent care in a compassionate healing environment.
St. Charles Center for Women’s Health
340 NW Fifth Street, Suite 101, Redmond, OR 97756
www.stcharleshealthcare.org, 541-526-6635
St. Charles Center for Women’s Health
777 NW Wall Street, Suite 300 • Bend, OR 97701
Property Owner/Developer: St. Charles Health System
Contractor: Skanska USA Building
Project Cost: $804,000
Square Footage: 8,674
Superintendent: Greg Gentry
Sr. Project Engineer: Chad Schlottmann
Foreman: Jason Biever
Architect: BBT Architects
Principal Architect: Todd Turner
Structural Engineer: Froelich Engineers
Mechanical Engineer: Design Build
Subcontractors and Suppliers:
ProShop Millwork, Bell Hardware, Bend Commercial Glass, CCI Bend LLC, Dannick Corp, Fabulous Floors, Building Material Specialties, Cascade Painting and Design, Inc., Intuitive Fire, Twin River Plumbing, Cascade Heating, Tomco Electric, We Cut Concrete, ServiceMaster Cleaning
