Construction to begin on clinic

Castle Rock Hospital District will break ground on its new medical center building in July, according to CRHD CEO Bailie Dockter.

The new building will be built in front of the current facility, with construction expected to conclude next summer. 

“We’re hoping to be open next summer,” she said.

The staff and hospital district board started conversations about building a new center last year as they’ve had to deal with more building problems due to the current facility’s age and original design when built, Dockter said.

The current building was constructed in 1979 and the layout, according to Dockter, was designed with the thought of housing individual practitioners before the hospital district started employing them. The new building will be built to allow practitioners and staff to work closer together. She also believes the new facility will help attract practitioners to the area. 

Dockter said the hospital district plans to fund the building through a combination of cash on hand and a USDA loan, which will be paid back through patient revenue.

She said one of the most common questions she’s been asked about the funding is if patients will be billed more for services as a result, 

“The answer to that question is absolutely not,” she said.

The hospital district plans to use the new facility to house additional services not provided by the hospital district, including the potential for medical imaging and behavioral health services, Dockter said. Discussions of adding a pharmacy after news that Shopko would close took place, but Dockter said the hospital district would have difficulties being competitive with Smith’s Food and Drug’s pharmacy because of the scale its parent company, Kroger, has in ordering medications. She said those additional costs would be passed along to the hospital district’s customers if it did open a pharmacy.