SEQUIM — At groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe’s Health and Wellness Center on Friday, the talk, prayer and song were about sharing strength with one’s neighbors.
The people of Sequim and environs are “our extended family,” said Jamestown Tribal Council chairwoman Liz Mueller.
“We want to provide the best health care to you.”
The tribe’s clinic, which will take a year to build, will be open to tribal members and the larger community, said Jamestown chairman Ron Allen.
“Ninety-five percent of the patients we’re going to be serving are from the non-Indian community,” he added.
Allen invited Sequim Mayor Walt Schubert and many other city officials, as well as Olympic Medical Center’s commissioners including Arlene Engel and Harlan Knudson, to Friday’s gathering.
The clinic project, Allen said, is “a true community partnership.”
The 35,000-square-foot clinic will have a staff of from 15 to 19 family doctors, specialists and nurse practitioners.
And it will be easy to find, with totem poles towering over its entrance just east of the Olympic Medical Cancer Center at 844 N. Fifth Ave.
“We’re going to make sure people know we’re here,” said Allen.
“Sequim is a S’Klallam word,” the chairman added, and tribe and city share both history and hopes.
“We’re excited to be a leader among leaders in the Sequim community,” Allen added.