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| Ground blessing held for new Bad River Tribal Health Clinic |
Ground blessing held for new Bad River Tribal Health Clinic
$6 million facility to replace structure that burned in 2006
By RICK OLIVO
Staff Writer
ODANAH - In July of 2006, shortly after the Bad River Tribal Health Clinic had passed an important facility inspection with flying colors, an early morning fire completely gutted the structure, leaving the community without a home for the vital health care programs that had been available to tribal members.
Clinic staff immediately scrambled to get alternative locations for the health care screening and treatment that had been provided in the burned-out clinic.
They succeeded, and after a fashion, health care was restored in a fashion, albeit, awkwardly from a number of different locations, including a portable building located next to the burned out clinic.
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That is the way it has continued, for nearly four years.
The old clinic remains boarded up near the Chief Blackbird Center, it's eventual fate as yet undetermined, however, thanks to years of hard work, a new $6 million tribal health clinic is set to begin construction this July near the existing Bad River Elder Center.
A ground blessing ceremony took place Tuesday as community members gathered at the Elder Center for presentations, a blessing and a feast to celebrate the building of a new clinic.
"This is a very important day for Bad River, one that has been long anticipated," said Bad River Tribal Chairman Mike Wiggins.
He noted that many clinic staff had been forced to work in situations that were less than ideal, and recalled the fire that destroyed the old clinic.
"It had a negative impact on us as a tribe in m any different ways," he said. "Services to our people were interrupted. The things that were put in place afterwards were needed and admirable and got us by, but there was no way they could replace the flagship that fulfilled and represented our community," he said.
Wiggins said the Tribe suffered financially because of the fire, as tribal members were forced to go off reservation to seek even basic health needs.
"We are still dealing as a council with the financial aftermath that came from losing the clinic," he said. "But we are going to get through that."
Wiggins said the new clinic would have none of the shortcomings of the new clinic.
"We will come out of this even stronger as a health department, for employees, and most importantly for being able to provide for the health care needs of our people," he said.
Wiggins said Michael Laverdure, director of First American Design Studio and a member of the architectural firm DSGW of North St. Paul designed the new facility. He is also the same architect who designed the recently completed and highly regarded health care clinic at the Lac du Flambeau Reservation, Wiggins said.
"This clinic is going to be bigger, better and stronger than the way we were set up in the past. We are ready to rise up like the phoenix from the ashes," he said.
Bad River Health Director Mary Bigboy recalled the fire that razed the clinic, how she and others had contacted clinic members.
"It was a very emotional time for us. Those of you who were there on that morning realize how it was a great loss for us and for the community," she said. "The most devastating part of it was that we had just one through an inspection from Blue Cross-Blue Shield and we scored a hundred points out of a possible hundred points. We were feeling so good about that and then the fire hit us."
Bigboy discussed how the clinic staff had made arrangements for alternative medical care with Memorial Medical Center in Ashland and with Huhn's Pharmacy in Ashland for prescriptions.
"We had accomplished that much by noon of that day," she said.
Bigboy set up an alternative plan that was approved by the tribal council and the clinic staff moved forward as well as they could.
Bigboy said she believed that something good always came out of disaster.
"One of the best things was that everyone in the community, everyone in the tribal organization pulled together to help us out," she said.
Bigboy said much planning had been devoted to the new clinic, and praised the efforts of Bad River Special Projects Manager Jackie Rose in coordinating the task of making a new clinic possible.
"We were able to progress at a much faster rate than we would have been able to if it had just been me and some of the committee people," she said.
Bigboy noted that the rain on Tuesday had moved the event indoors.
"My grandmother told me that we need that; it's the way of the Great Spirit cleansing, getting things ready for an important event,' she said. "I don't think there is anything more important than a new clinic for our community."
Clinic Administrator Deb Tutor said it was an exciting time for the Bad River Community.
"Today's gathering clearly marks an important point in working towards the achievement of our goals," she said, calling the effort an opportunity to renew the tribe's commitment to the health of the Bad River community, and to leave a lasting legacy.
"Today we not only ask the creator top bless this site, but we also ask that he give us the wisdom and leadership to provide quality health care to our people," she said. "Although we still have a long way to go, with your support we will be successful in the building of this clinic and creating a new health care delivery system that will meet the needs of our community."
The blessing was made in the Ojibwa language by Bad River elder Robert Powless, Sr.
After the ceremony, Wiggins thanked the Indian Health Service, which is providing $2 million for the project and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribe which has made a grant of $1 million for the project. The clinic is also being funded by the federal Department of Urban Development and the Bad River tribe.
Rose said the project was the result of cooperative efforts by many individuals and groups pulling together. She said the project should get underway by the beginning of July with completion set for the fall of 2011.
She noted the new facility was designed to meet the growing needs of the tribe and to provide new services such as dentistry that hadn't been available at the old clinic.
Wiggins said the building of the clinic would be a major project for the tribe.
"That is why this is such a special day," he said. "This is going to help us turn the corner and provide a wider array of health care. It will position us to meet the needs of our community."
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Posted on Jun 16, 2010 18:30pm by admin
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Copyright 2010, LCoTimes.com
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