CCHS Dental Clinic breaks ground

DAYTON–A new rural dental clinic is under construction at the Dayton General Hospital campus and it is expected there will be drilling and filling by the first week of June, 2021.

Nelson Construction of Walla Walla broke ground for the 1,100 square foot addition to the Columbia Family Clinic (CFC) last week and will be pouring the foundation this week, according to Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire.

The building should be finished around May and, allowing time for installing equipment, patients may be seen beginning in early June.

The dental clinic will connect with the CFC via a hallway, integrating the waiting room and reception desk, McGuire said. There will be three operatories, a staff room and equipment room.

"The whole point," McGuire said, "is integrated care. We want to take care of the whole person." Some conditions are evident and noticeable by dental professionals, he said, such as cancer, gum disease, some forms of MS and ALS, and other conditions.

McGuire said plans are to have a hygienist and dental aide provide dental care alongside one or more dentists. "Now that we've got a hole in the ground, I feel I can start recruiting a dentist," McGuire said. Prior to work commencing, he wasn't optimistic that any dentists would be interested, he said.

Funding for the addition includes $250,000 from the State of Washington, and another $100,000 is being requested in this year's Capital Budget by Rep. Skyler Rude (R-16-Walla Walla), McGuire said. "When we determined that the cost of construction was considerably higher than we initially predicted, Rep. Rude encouraged us to ask for additional money from the Capital Budget," he said. "There seems to be a COVID-19 and Dayton location premium being added to the construction costs."

McGuire says there are no "funding gaps" in the project so even if the additional $100,000 is not granted, the project will not be jeopardized.

The hospital district also received a DOH/HRSA grant for developing oral care in the Rural Health Care Clinic setting in the amount of $86,000.

In addition, the hospital district has obtained the change of scope necessary to get the increased dental encounter rate for oral health services in the Rural Health Clinic and it basically covers actual cost of care, McGuire noted.

There are no funding gaps in the project and the encounter rate covers the cost of operation. Even if we do not receive the additional $100,000 from the legislature this year, it will not jeopardize the project