La Plata County Public Health opened its doors Monday at a new clinic location inside the Axis Health building at 150 Mercury Village Drive.
The sparkling 2,500-square-foot clinic is on the first floor of the former Mercury Payment Systems building. It features three exam rooms, a dedicated vaccine room, energy-efficient vaccine refrigerators and dedicated “dirty” and “clean” labs – the former for handling specimens, the later for preparing vaccines.
The clinic will expand its hours and offer both vaccine appointments and sexual health appointments Monday to Thursday, said Tiffani Roberts, the department’s health access manager and clinic manager. Previously, each service was offered only on specific days of the week.
Roberts said she anticipates the clinic will be able to see more patients more efficiently thanks to the expanded space and hours.
“We’re super excited about the opportunity to be colocated with a (Federally Qualified Health Center),” she said. “There’s a lab here on-site. There’s a pharmacy here on-site. They do oral health, behavioral health and primary care. So (it’s) really a community care hub.”
The new location, accessible by public transit, shares the building with its laboratory service provider and the Axis pharmacy.
In addition to the new space, LPCPH is launching new technology features, such as text message reminders and electronic check-in, now that the clinic is settled, said Director Tracy Anslemo.
“We’re really becoming a 21st-century public health practice,” she said.
The move marks the final step in the department’s transition from its former location on Sawyer Drive. La Plata County, which assumed public health responsibilities after San Juan Basin Public Health dissolved at the end of 2023, chose not to acquire the Columbine building.
The department now operates from two public offices: the clinic in Mercury Village and office space at 185 Suttle St. in Bodo Park. It also runs a water lab in the Durango Tech Center, which is not open to the public.
Axis purchased its new building in early 2023. The county pays $67,000 annually in rent.
The LPCPH clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, with a daily closure from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
