N.L. government unveils site for new community health centre in Deer Lake

Shovels will soon be in the ground to build a new community health centre in Deer Lake.

Premier Andrew Furey announced the location of the centre on Humberview Drive on Thursday.The 30,000-square-foot facility, which will be called theHumber Valley-White Bay Community Health Centre, will house office and clinical spaces to support family care teams andmental health and addictions supports.

The province first announced intentions to build the centrein March. Furey, the MHA for the area, said it will replace the community'sclinic that has become outdated.

"It's not modern. People don't want to practice in it, so we made a commitment to design and build a new clinic here in Deer Lake," Furey said Thursday.

A contract worth $2.5 million annually has been awarded to Marco Group Ltd. to lease the space once construction is completed. The contract is a 20-year lease, according to the Department of Health, equating to $50 million.

An email from the department said the province isn't funding the cost of construction which Furey hopes will be completedin spring 2026.

Furey said recruitment has been going well, as the province has hired five doctors and five nurse practitioners, along with registered and licensed practical nurses.

"It will be an incredible asset for the people of the region," he said. "We think that it's almost like the poster child for how these family care teams should work out of St. John's."

Teara Freake, the vice president and COO of the western zone for Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services, said the centre will consolidate care services into one facility, while offering new services to the region.

"It will give the patient and the family a one step place to come.It will also allow staff to be able to collaborate differently, and better, to ensure that health-care needs that they have are met in one place," Freake said.

A similar facility is alsobeing built in Stephenville, she added, but the Deer Lake facility will differ in its offering of blood collection and lab imaging.

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Deer Lake Mayor Mike Goosney believes the 30,000-square-foot facility will help attract people to Deer Lake. So far, five doctors have been hired with more recruitment underway ahead of the expected 2026 opening.

Those services are an important addition, according to Deer Lake Mayor Mike Goosney. He sees the facility as something that can attract medical professionals to the community.

"This one's been a long time coming. There's been a lot of advocacy from the community it's a very proud day," Goosney said.

"I do believe this will be an uptake for people to move to Deer Lake. And for people that live here, we'll have a modern facility to enjoy."

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