June 19, 2009

Water’s edge receives grand launch
Reception touts partners

By Kathy Gray
of The Chronicle

     Several hundred guests thronged to Lone Pine Village Thursday night to celebrate ground breaking at Mid-Columbia Medical Center’s (MCMC) Water’s Edge Health and Wellness Center.
     Attendees were feted at the Lone Pine Village offices as part of The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours, and then trooped east to the Water’s Edge site for comments on the new wellness center.
     Outside the tent erected for the occasion, leveled ground and heavy equipment stood waiting to build Water’s Edge along the banks of the Columbia River with The Dalles Bridge and dam in the near background.
     The new center will house a wide variety of services including outpatient therapies, cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, medical symptom reduction, living healthy with diabetes, the sleep center and the Center for Mind Body Medicine.
     Lone Pine developer Robert Gilham hosted the event. Lone Pine is partnering with MCMC and Integrity Structures to develop the 62,000-square-foot building, which will include a full gym, spa, sauna and treatment rooms and cost about $50 million. It’s part of an estimated 200,000 square feet of commercial space planned for development with the 250-residence planned unit development.
     “We had a vision that we could create a really unique community here in The Dalles,” Gilham said in his opening remarks.
     The Dalles Mayor Nikki Lesich was a reporter in the back of the room when Gilham first brought his plan to The Dalles City Council.
     “I thought, ‘What a dreamer,’” Lesich said to a round of laughter, also citing her early skepticism regarding the Commodore redevelopment.
     “One of the reasons I ran for mayor is because, as you look into the community, nothing is done hastily, nothing is down without contention … and we are never short-visioned,” she said, adding later, “We know what we want to have in The Dalles and we afford what we want. That’s how we get things done.”
     Ray Johnston of Johnston & Associates architects spoke about melding the building with its riverside surroundings, and the inspiration of the basalt benches and the water, as well as the holistic approach of the Planetree philosophy of medical care, which MCMC follows.
     MCMC CEO Duane Francis spoke about the partnerships involved in Water’s Edge, not only for the development, but for the medical care as well.
     “We acquired Oregon Health Sciences University about a month ago,” Francis joked, drawing laughs from the crowd while referring to the partnership between MCMC and the Portland medical university, which will provide some of the medical expertise for Water’s Edge and other MCMC facilities. He promised the community would see more involvement from the university in the future.
     Dr. Joseph Robertson, president of Oregon Health Sciences University, followed Francis at the podium, comparing Water’s Edge to OHSU’s development on the Portland waterfront. He spoke of the river’s natural flow and its appropriateness for a health care facility.
     “Natural flow is what we’re after when we hope to combine the best of modern medicine and natural medicine,” Robertson said.
     He also spoke of his personal ties to the Columbia River Gorge, which includes a home in Rowena.
     “It’s where I will retire, so I want to make darned certain it’s got good medical care,” he said, drawing laughter.
     Gretchen Kimsey, representing MCMC’s board of trustees, spoke about area’s longevity as a place of livelihood.
     “Here we are at the water’s edge, just like people have been for 10,000 or 12,000 years,” she said.
     She compared to Water’s Edge to the Celilo Center for cancer treatment, MCMC’s biggest development effort to date.
     “Just as the Celilo Center gifted the area as a place of refuge, care and skill, Water’s Edge will become another beacon of hope for the city,” Kimsey said.