Family Care Network to submit building permits for Blaine medical facility, CEO says

Family Care Network (FCN) CEO Dr. Rodney Anderson told Blaine City Council during its February 12 meeting that FCN planned on submitting building permits within the next month for a Blaine medical facility.

FCN showed interest in building a healthcare clinic on the city’s old airport property near SR-543 in 2019, after the city of Blaine had reached out to the medical group about the project. After being delayed because of the pandemic, FCN bought a 2.5-acre parcel from the city of Blaine for $340,000 in June 2021. Pandemic challenges in healthcare and FCN implementing a new electronic medical record system further set back the Blaine project, Anderson said.

“This is taking a lot longer than any of us hoped or envisioned and that is the reality of it,” Anderson said. That pains me probably as much as it pains anybody else.”

FCN recently re-engaged with architects, contractors and engineers for the project and created potential facility renderings. The preliminary design shows the facility would be about 6,000 square feet and provide care to over 12,000 patients.

“This building will serve the needs of the community hopefully for many decades to come,” Anderson said.

The facility, which will accept patients of all ages, is expected to have lab services, 12-14 exam rooms, a procedure room, a triage room and an on-site behavioral health specialist.

The facility won’t have on-site imaging, but Anderson said the building has room to expand.

Anderson said FCN would like to move its four physicians at the Birch Bay Family Medicine to the Blaine facility, which would have at least eight providers.

When councilmember Sonia Hurt asked Anderson who would staff the Birch Bay clinic, Rodney replied that FCN anticipated its Birch Bay patients would move to Blaine as well.

“There would be no abandonment of any patient who currently exists in Birch Bay but that site allows no expansion and we’re maxed out at that facility right now,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he was unable to give a timeline on construction or when the facility would open.

“I wanted to communicate to everyone here that progress is resuming and we are moving forward with this,” he said. “We remain as committed as we were four or five years ago.”