City breaks ground on $4.1 million health center

Mayor Ron Littlefield was joined Friday morning by local officials and architects to break ground on a new $4.1 million city employee health center, located on East 11th Street.

Although excavators have been clearing the site since early January, the mayor was on hand to mark the beginning of developing a portion of the 9-acre site originally intended to be a homeless health clinic. The 20,000-square-foot facility, designed by TWH Architects Inc., is expected to be completed in one year.

Littlefield said the new center would bring millions of dollars in development to the 11th Street area and serve as a long-term "investment" for reducing the health costs of city employees. The center will replace two facilities, one located on 10th Street and one on Amnicola Highway.

"We worked a long time to get to this point," Littlefield said. "We can afford to invest in this $4.1 million facility because it will save us many times over that in the wellness of our employees and the reduced health costs of maintaining their wellness."

Littlefield added that the city had already benefited from its current health centers, stating the centers had "saved lives" by detecting diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease in early stages.

"All these things would have killed them or made them very sick if we had not been aggressive in pursuing this program," he said.

Along with a health clinic, the facility will include a drive-thru pharmacy and have room for future expansion. To encourage wellness, city employees will have the option to participate in an incentive program rewarding them for healthy living.