Minor care clinic to open
Airway Heights facility to serve wide area
Flu shots, drug testing, vaccinations, physicals and other minor care services will soon be available at a new minor care clinic in Airway Heights.
The West Plains Clinic may open in early December, said owner Lorie Klahn, but the steady stream of subcontractors finishing the building may push back the opening date.
“We’re going to try to meet a narrow niche in medical care; minor medical care,” Klahn said.
Located at 12611 on West Sunset Highway, the small office building will take minor care injuries, seeing about 25 to 30 people a day with two full-time nurse practitioners and two part-time employees. Privately owned, the clinic will be accepting most major insurance.
“Several surveys were done two or three years ago – one item identified as needed was an urgent care facility,” said Alfred Pili’aloha, the city’s community development director. “It’s a start, you know.”
The clinic will be available to the roughly 31,000 people living in the vicinity; Airway Heights, Medical Lake, West Spokane and Reardan. Up to 41,000 people flood into the area during workdays.
Klahn and Pili’aloha both noted that the only other medical care facility nearby is at the Fairchild Air Force Base – which only serves military. There is a Rockwood Clinic in Cheney, but it is considerable distance from the Airway Heights location.
“This could fill the needs of this community for minor medical care,” Klahn said.
West Plains Clinic won’t offer primary care and won’t see major injuries or major emergencies, Klahn said.
Major issues like birth, broken bones or heart attacks won’t be treated there. Instead, West Plains Clinic will do its best to direct patients to services in Spokane and elsewhere.
There won’t be any doctors on staff, just nurse-practitioners, one of whom is Klahn.
She decided to open the clinic after the previous clinic she worked at closed last April. Klan purchased all the clinic’s supplies and hauled them to Airway Heights.
“We’re really thrilled to come in and try to be part of the solution there. There are so many stressors on people regarding their medical coverage and access to medical care,” she said.