Photo by Tori James
Angels Camp, CA – Literally, years in the making, a multi-million-dollar clinic near the heart of downtown Angels Camp is about to swing open its doors for business.
In fact, the first operational day of the James Dalton Medical Office, part of the Mark Twain Medical Center’s network of clinics and specialty centers, will be this Thursday, Feb. 13, less than a week before its official ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 a.m.
According to Dignity Health-Mark Twain Medical Center (MTMC) officials, the new facility, which is located at 590 Stanislaus Street behind Froggy’s Auto Wash & Lube, just received state licensing.
“This is a community effort…it has taken over ten years to make this a reality and it would not have happened without the perseverance of the Mark Twain Medical Center Foundation,” exclaims Doug Archer, President and CEO of Dignity Health-MTMC. The Foundation was responsible for contributing $2.6 million towards the $7.5 million project.
Archer describes the project as a powerful example of friends and neighbors working together to better their community. He adds, “It is fitting that the facility is named for the late James Dalton, longtime Foundation board member with a vision for expanding local health care services — the Dalton Family are generous donors to this project.”
A Full Suite Of Rural Health Care Services
Offering comprehensive health care clinic services, the James Dalton Medical Office, as reported here, will provide primary care, including women’s and pediatric services, orthopedics, tele-psychiatrics, counseling services, laboratory, and diagnostic imaging. The MTMC medical offices in the Angels Camp Town Center are closing in tandem with their move into the new building, and patients formerly seen at that location are receiving directions to report to the new facility for their appointments and care.
Hospital officials anticipate residents of Angels Camp and neighboring communities on the Highway 4 corridor will have a localized center in which to establish local health care relationships with primary care physicians. Archer notes that this is a key first step towards achieving and maintaining good health.
Among the primary care doctors seeing patients at the new center is Dr. John Krpan, who relocated his family to Calaveras County from rural Alaska in 2002 and seized upon the opportunity to return and care for patients in the county.
He comments, “I personally knew Jim Dalton and I am honored to work in a clinic named after him…a great man…gave a lot of his time, wisdom and wealth.”
Krpan describes Dalton as a quiet advocate for patient access to care and his namesake center just one of his many legacies. “Our team is both honored and proud to provide care in such a truly outstanding setting.”