St. Charles to build new clinic in Bend

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 16, 2015

St. Charles Health System plans to open a clinic with nine doctors in a new building on the south side of Bend, the health care organization announced Monday.

The health system has signed a letter of intent with Taylor Northwest and the owners of the property at SE Third Street and Badger Road to be the anchor tenant in an 18,500-square-foot building, according to a news release from St. Charles. The site is across Badger Road from Wal-Mart.

When complete, the clinic will house nine family physicians, an on-site laboratory, X-ray and rehabilitation services, the news release stated. The clinic is expected to be open every day, with extended hours, and take walk-in patients.

Construction is anticipated to begin in the winter and finish by November 2016.

“The south end of Bend is experiencing tremendous growth,” John Weinsheim, chief operating officer of St. Charles Medical Group, said in the news release. “This new clinic fills an unmet need for health care services in our community and helps us meet our longer-term goal of improving access to primary care throughout Central Oregon.”

St. Charles Medical Group is the physician arm of the health system, according to its website.

The new clinic will be built on a portion of nearly 12 acres of undeveloped land owned or controlled by Bob Thomas, the former owner of General Motors and Honda dealerships in Bend, according to Deschutes County property records.

Thomas, the owner of Bob Thomas Car Co., had once eyed the land for possible expansion, according to The Bulletin archives. His family had sold cars in Bend since 1916, but the company lost its GM franchises, along with more than 1,000 other dealers nationwide, when the automaker reorganized in bankruptcy.

St. Charles Health System owns hospitals in Bend, Redmond and Madras and is building a new 62,000-square-foot hospital and campus in Prineville.