A site has been selected to build a new primary-care centre in Ucluelet with plans to open next year.
The two-storey, 10,774-square-foot building will contain a medical clinic, laboratory, mental health and counselling offices, as well as other health-care service spaces.
Ucluelet Mayor Marilyn McEwen said in a statement that a new clinic has been on the community’s wishlist for more than a decade. “Our local physicians as well as travelling specialists will very much enjoy working in a beautiful new building.”
Island Health board chair Leah Hollins said one of the challenges in expanding health-care services in remote areas has been the lack of appropriate clinical space.
“This long-term lease agreement should provide certainty to people living in the region and our partners that we are committed to growing primary care services through this centre for years to come,” she said in a statement.
Island Health had been funding overhead at the existing Ucluelet Medical Clinic after Dr. Carrie Marshall, the clinic lease-holder and owner, said in January 2022 that she could not financially justify renewing the clinic’s lease.
In May of that year, the health authority gave the clinic an 18-month reprieve, agreeing to contribute to its overhead until the development of a primary-care centre.
That deal is expected to stay in place until the new building opens in the summer of 2025.
Tofino-based doctors, who work shifts at Tofino General Hospital, will also continue to provide in-person and virtual visits in Ucluelet, about a 45-minute drive away.
Marshall said physicians are excited by the plans to expand team-based primary-care services in the area.
Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne said the centre is “incredibly welcome news” for the growing area.
There were plans to build a 17-unit motel resort at 2094 Peninsula Rd. as recently as 2022.
The lot is currently occupied by a mobile home and several outbuildings.
The new clinic building, expected to be built in contemporary West Coast style, will have at least 25 vehicle parking spots and 12 secured bike racks, according to architectural drawings submitted by Vancouver-based Checkwitch Poiron Architects Inc.
At the October council meeting where the building’s development permit was approved, Ucluelet council expressed an interest in on-site doctor accommodation being included on the site.
Island Health has said that it is looking to bring more nurse practitioners and physicians into the centre.
— With files from Cindy E. Harnett and Carla Wilson
