Kalispell Regional Medical Center officials on Friday announced plans to build a primary care and imaging clinic in Columbia Falls next to Super 1 Foods on U.S. 2.

The construction plan calls for starting site work for the 8,021-square-feet building late this month. Construction begins in October with completion slated for December this year.

Jim Oliverson, a vice president and hospital spokesman, said the facility would serve the community with primary care and urgent care with a physician on site.

Imaging services including MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT scans, ultrasound and X-rays.

The new facility will allows people to get care along with imaging  just a few minutes from schools and major employer work places, eliminating multiple trips to Kalispell for these services.

“We have a number of patients that come from the Columbia Falls area who have a difficult time getting to the hospital with jobs and school schedules,” Oliverson said.

Imaging equipment covers a wide range of medical needs. A press release from the hospital detailed the major equipment:

MRI — uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of soft tissues, organs, bone and joints with no radiation exposure to the patient. Common uses include imaging the brain, spine, joints, neck and abdomen.

CT — uses X-rays and a computer to create images of cross-sectional slices the width of a credit card of the scanned area of the body.

Oliverson said radiologists in Kalispell will have instant access to images made at the Columbia Falls center through Kalispell Regional’s advanced picture archiving and communications system.

According to the press release, the lot to the east of the Super 1 Foods store on U.S. 2 was purchased in 2005 in anticipation of growth in the Columbia Falls area and the need to bring additional primary care and imaging services closer to people living in northeast Flathead County.

According to Oliverson, the hospital’s board of trustees has had the Columbia Falls facility on its horizon for sometime.

“The reason they decided to do this now is it will put money in the pockets of an awful lot of tradesmen,” he said.

With little construction activity in the valley this year, the center should benefit from an extremely competitive environment among contractors seeking work.

No estimate of the cost of the facility was provided.

However, the press release said development of the new clinic will contribute “many hundreds of thousands of dollars” to people in construction trades and local vendors.

The hospital statement said this clinic development follows the board’s long-term plan to meet the needs for expanded health care services in Northwest Montana and its view that growth will return to the Flathead Valley.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at [email protected].