May 19, 2021 3:20 a.m.
Aviva Health is holding a virtual groundbreaking Wednesday for its $16 million, 31,000 square foot, two-story construction project.
A release said it will include 34 new exam rooms, 4 procedure rooms, 3 large conference rooms available for community events, and enough space to house 24 family medicine resident physicians.
The groundbreaking, in video format, will be shared publicly via Facebook Wednesday afternoon after a private viewing for Aviva Health staff, board of directors and community partners.
KC Bolton, CEO of Aviva Health said “While we would have much preferred welcoming guests in-person to our groundbreaking, out of an abundance of caution we choose to go virtual”. Bolton said the organization is excited to finally have the opportunity to share publicly their plans to increase access to care in Douglas County.
The release said while construction has been underway for several weeks, events including the pandemic, wildfires and other important initiatives, led to a delay in the groundbreaking.
At completion, Aviva Health projects it will have the capacity to see an additional 3,300 unduplicated patients, totaling 10,000 patient visits annually. In addition, the new building will be home to 24 family medicine physician residents when the organization welcomes its third cohort of resident doctors next year. The release said Aviva hopes to convince many of those physicians to put down roots in Douglas County and other rural areas in Oregon, addressing a long-standing need to recruit and retain qualified physicians to practice in regions that have historically been health care provider shortage areas.
The virtual groundbreaking will close with the announcement of another special Aviva initiative: The public launch of a $300,000 capitol campaign supporting the project. The organization began with a silent phase of the campaign last summer, reaching out to its board of directors and staff for support. The campaign has already raised $200,000 of its goal.
Along with funds raised through the capital campaign, Aviva Health has continued to reach out to several private foundations for added support. Aviva is using $1 million in reserves for the project and has secured $2.7 million in New Market Tax Credit Funding. Aviva has also been awarded in excess of $7 million in program grant funding from federal and state agencies along with a $400,000 gift from Umpqua Health Alliance.
Go to: https://aviva.health for more information on Aviva Health.