BMC adding another Westside clinic

Bend Memorial Clinic’s new 41,000-square-foot clinic in the Old Mill District is expected to be open this fall. That’s three times the size of their current Westside clinic.

Construction for the new facility is estimated to cost BMC $3 million. It will be located at 815 SW Bond Street, the former LifeWise facility across from the Old Mill shops.

With a steady increase in patients, clinic officials say they feel now is the right time for expansion.

BMC is the largest multi-specialty clinic in Central Oregon. The clinic cites the ever-expanding Westside of Bend as to why it chose their new location in the Old Mill District.

“There’s more people who will be moving in the area of west Bend, and if we’re there, then it makes it easier for them to access their health care whenever they need it,” said Christy McLeod, chief marketing officer at BMC.

Old Mill District Marketing Director Noelle Fredland said they’ve been working with BMC for several months, and they believe the clinic will enhance the area.

“It will be a wonderful asset to the Old Mill and to the community to have BMC and their services in this very convenient and visible location,” Fredland said. “It will be very helpful for visitors and locals alike to be able to come down here and get the services they’re looking for.”

Over the past two years, BMC has added 22 new health-care providers to their clinic, 12 in the past year. They’ve also expanded their Urgent Care Center to accommodate the growing community.

“People in Central Oregon live busy lives as they’re out doing a lot of things, and sometimes injury and illness takes over so we want to be there to make it convenient for them to come into our centers when they need us the most,” McLeod said.

BMC said this was a milestone for them, but they’re not done with the planning. The next step is to start construction and development.

“Our planning isn’t by any means finished yet, but we’re really excited about the opportunity that it brings to have BMC have a bigger footprint over on the west side of Bend,” McLeod said.

BMC is in the planning and design phase of the project, but expect the facility to be operating this fall.