LCMC Gets The Green Light To Construct A Clinic In Holbrook

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By Tammy Gray-Searles
    A proposed Holbrook medical center received the necessary approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission July 24.
    With no citizen comments or opposition to the request for a conditional use permit, Little Colorado Medical Center (LCMC) officials received the permission they need to begin constructing the facility. LCMC CEO Jeff Hamblen attended the meeting, and told the commission that the hospital board spent two years researching options for bringing a clinic to Holbrook. He noted that an appropriate, affordable location has finally been found, and the group is ready to begin construction as soon as it obtains the necessary permits.
    Before they made their decision, City Manager Carlo Pilgrim told commission members that a medical services meeting is scheduled Aug. 26 between the city council and a group that proposes to negotiate with medical service providers.
    Commissioner Zelda Gray told Pilgrim she appreciated the information, but felt that the vote on the request for a conditional use permit should not be delayed.
    “If the coalition wants to go ahead, let them go ahead. But we have something tangible here before us, and we need to consider it. We haven’t had anything tangible in a long time,” Gray said regarding medical facilities.
    City Clerk Cher Millage asked Hamblen if he would be willing to attend the Aug. 26 meeting, even if the commission moved ahead on his request. Hamblen noted that he was unavailable on that particular date, but was very interested in attending.
    “We’re very interested in serving this community,” he said. “What we’re talking about is primary care. Physician services are a tough commodity to come by, and they’re even tougher to come by in rural Arizona.”
    According to Hamblen, the planned medical facility in Holbrook will help with the recruitment of phy-sicians to the area both by offering a place for them to practice and by proving that the city is a viable place to establish a clinic.
    Longtime Holbrook resident and LCMC board member Marlin Gillespie urged the commission to ap-prove the conditional use permit, noting that the opportunity to have an additional medical facility in Holbrook was something he had waited and worked for, for a long time.
    “I got on the board with the goal of bringing additional primary care to Holbrook,” he said. “My wife and I have lived here a long time, and have seen many people leave because of a lack of medical care.”
    Gillespie noted that over the years there have been many surveys conducted on the needs of Holbrook, and citizens have consistently put medical care at the top of the list.
    “We have an opportunity now to help that situation,” he remarked.
    Commissioner Juan Florez asked whether LCMC officials had already secured a lease for the property where they planned to build, and whether there was plenty of space for parking. Hamblen explained that the terms of the lease agreement had been decided and the paperwork is being drafted. He also noted that there will typically only be two employees and one physician on staff at the clinic at any given time, and parking is not expected to be a problem.
    The commission voted unanimously to approve the conditional use permit.
    Hamblen previously noted that a firm timeline for construction has not yet been established, but that the facility should be open for business before the end of the year. Physicians will travel to the clinic on a rotat-ing basis from nearby cities, such as Winslow and Flagstaff, and will include both primary care physicians and specialists, such as surgeons and obstetricians.