Red Feather Lakes clinic will host grand opening

By Linda Bell
Correspondent

Dr. Janice Weixelman, who operates the Red Feather Lakes Medical Clinic, will be hosting a grand opening for area residents on June 3 during clinic hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event celebrates completion of renovation work at the one-time schoolhouse and church at 168 Main St.

Weixelman said she has been thrilled with the response to her Thursday clinic through the winter, which drew from six to 30 patients each day. She said office hours will be expanded during summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, to include weekends as well as Thursdays. The clinic will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

The modernized 2,500-square-foot clinic includes two exam rooms, a large waiting room, an emergency room, state-of-the-art computer links with Poudre Valley Hospital and an EKG unit, she said.

Through an agreement with Poudre Valley Hospital, which guarantees her salary for several years while she establishes herself in the rural area, Weixelman said she is committed to work in Red Feather Lakes for at least six years.

"My goal," she said, "is to have the clinic open full time by the end of that six years."

Weixelman is leasing the clinic building with an option to buy it from Morning Star Community Church. She said she paid for all the recent renovations herself.

Because demographics in Red Feather Lakes shift from a large multi-generational summer population to a smaller, older year-round population, Weixelman has to be prepared for emergencies of all kinds and to treat chronic illnesses and acute problems affecting older people. She named asthma, heart attacks and strokes as examples.

The clinic accepts most health insurance plans and Medicare and Medicaid. During clinic hours, Weixelman takes walk-in patients and appointments. The clinic phone number is 881-2885.