The groundbreaking for a new 18,600-square-foot Family Health Associates clinic will be held next to the current FHA clinic, 1890 Seventh St., on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 5:30 p.m.

UMATILLA — A groundbreaking ceremony for a new two-story, 18,600-square-foot Family Health Associates clinic will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, next to its current location at 1890 Seventh St.

Umatilla Hospital District clerk Pam Christopherson said the existing clinic, a modular building with additions, will remain operational while the new facility is constructed on its east side. The UHD owns the building and allows the FHA to operate within. According to its website, FHA is an independently-owned primary care medical practice that provides comprehensive medical care.

Neither Christopherson nor FHA Practice Manager Joleen Horning knew the current clinic’s size, but Horning said the new structure will be large enough to house four providers.

“Right now we’re two providers,” she said, “and we’ve outgrown the space.”

Other amenities will include space for physical therapy and a community room for rent.

“They are having a couple more doctors come in because their business is going good,” Christopherson said. “Hopefully, they’ll have more people come in, nurse practitioners and doctors. It’s going to be bigger with a lot more room for everyone, and we’ll be able to expand our business.”

She added that the project’s price tag is $9-$10 million, funded through grants from the city of Umatilla, Umatilla County and Amazon, as well as a loan. The UHD will also file for state help.

“We aren’t going after the taxpayers to pay for it,” she said.

According to Christopherson, FHA and hospital district representatives will attend the ceremony, along with officials from both the city and the project’s contractor, the Tri-Cities-based Bouten Construction, which should begin work shortly after the groundbreaking.

“They’re going to have that little ceremony,” she said, “and then they’ll start moving in on it.”

Christopher expects construction to take about a year. When complete, the current clinic will be moved, likely to a hilltop near the turn onto Highway 395 toward Hermiston, where it will be utilized for the homeless.

“The city is going to take it and they are going to move it out of there and make a homeless shelter for the community,” she said. “Something for the people who have no place to go.”

For groundbreaking information, call 541-567-6434. For FHA information, visit www.fhahermiston.com.