HELENA — On Friday, the Helena Indian Alliance held a grand opening for their new clinic.
“We're hoping this new space provides a better opportunity for our clients, a better service. There's a lot more room to operate and some of the features of this clinic are very unique,” says Executive Director of Helena Indian Alliance, Todd Wilson.
The Helena Indian Alliance, a federally qualified health center, provides primary care, mental health services, and youth programs for the Helena area.
The grand opening of the Leo Pocha Memorial Clinic, off Euclid Ave, began with a prayer, welcome, and honor song. Multiple public leaders also spoke to those gathered. A ribbon cutting and tours of the facility followed.
The clinic, which took about a year to complete, will provide physical, mental, and substance abuse care to the entire community, as well as Native-specific programs such as a food pantry and a diabetes program.
The Leo Pocha Memorial Clinic adds 6 spacious exam rooms to the 4 at their existing clinic, as well as a new lab and a “bullpen" type office space to allow all providers to work together instead of in individualized offices. The clinic aims to also be more Native-friendly with Native designs, tribal flags incorporated, and exam rooms named with Indian names. Additionally, the clinic can completely section off into “sick” and “well” quarters in case of pandemic conditions.
Wilson says that this new clinic will provide for the whole community, native and non-native alike.
“We take pride in our quality of service. Not just the service, but the quality of it. And we really want to be that staple of the community where you're coming in for the wide range of services, whether that be behavioral health, your medical, diabetes. Any one of those things, we want to be that provider for you, for the community,” says Wilson.
Additionally, Wilson says that a few more additions such as a traditional smudging room, a conference room, an employee locker room, and an integrated behavioral health office will be added within the next few months.
