A crowd gathers for a press conference Wednesday, September 30, outside the portion of the Citizens National Bank building in Mackinaw City that will soon serve residents and visitors as a medical clinic. The clinic at 580 South Nicolet Street is set to open its doors by mid-November. Residents of Mackinaw City will finally have a medical clinic in the village, once renovations are complete at the Citizens National Bank building at 580 South Nicolet Street.

The new clinic, owned and operated by Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace, hopes to open its doors by November 15 and will provide basic health care service to patients by appointment and walkin.

The 1,574-square-foot facility, on the first floor and south end of the bank building, will include a reception area, waiting room, three examination rooms, a blood-drawing station, an office, an employee lounge, two bathrooms, and storage

Jeff Cryderman (right) of St. Ignace explains to representatives from the hospital and Village of Mackinaw City what his crews from Cryderman Builders are doing to renovate the facility and what it should look like when construction is complete in mid-November. and maintenance areas. Design of the clinic is by architect

Fred Campbell of JML Design Group in Traverse City and Cryderman Builders of St. Ignace are the general contractors for the renovations. Sub-contractors on the project include local companies Alexander Electric of Mackinaw City, Belonga Plumbing of St. Ignace, and Superior Floor Covering of St. Ignace.

The presence of a health care facility in Mackinaw City is a long time coming, according to Village Manager Jeff Lawson, and residents have been asking for one in the community's annual survey for a long time.

"This is really about a community partnership," Mr. Lawson said. "We have been working for 20 years to get a facility here. It is a really positive step for us."

Catherine Nowka, the nurse practitioner who will be providing health care services at the new Mackinaw City clinic, poses in the doorway of one of the future examination rooms Wednesday, September 30. Patients who visit the new clinic can expect to receive the same type of health care they would get at a family doctor or general practitioner, said Tamie Hartwig, chief planning officer at the hospital. Additionally, the clinic will have laboratory services and a pharmacy courier in conjunction with Bay Pharmacy and the hospital, both in St. Ignace, and the hospital also is exploring adding other services in the future.

Hours of operation are not yet set at the new clinic, but Mackinac Straits Hospital plans to keep the facility open year-around, Monday through Friday.

Anyone seeking additional care the new clinic in Mackinaw City cannot provide will have their choice of hospitals, including Mackinac Straits' partner hospital, Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey.

"Our relationship with Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey has continued to improve our processes for patient flow, information technology, and direct relationships with physicians for a patient referral system," Mrs. Hartwig said.

Nurse Practitioner from East

Jordan To Head Clinic Staff

Staffing the clinic will be Catherine Nowka, a nurse practitioner moving to the area from East Jordan. She began work at the hospital in St. Ignace Monday, October 5, and plans to move to the Straits area with her husband, James.

Mrs. Nowka has nine years experience working in primary care and pediatric medicine and has been nursing since 1981. She has been a nurse practitioner since 1998 and worked at East Jordan Family Health Center. She traveled around Michigan for the last three years working for Sleep Diagnostics of Michigan.

Mrs. Nowka also took a few years off work to run a dairy farm in Big Rapids with her husband. She said she looks forward to making her new home in Mackinaw City and to working at the newly renovated facility.

"I look forward to working in the community," she said. "I like the friendly atmosphere here."

Her family has regularly visited the Straits area on vacations and she and her husband look forward to taking advantage of nearby opportunities for outdoor activity.

"We enjoy snow-shoeing, hiking, and getting outdoors," Mrs. Nowka said. "It's really a dream job. Not many nurse practitioners have their own clinic."

Since Mackinac Straits Health System has its hospital in St. Ignace and a medical clinic on Mackinac Island, it makes sense to complete the triangle with a clinic in Mackinaw City, hospital Chief Executive Officer Rod Nelson said.

"We are really pleased to be part of this partnership," he said. "I think it makes sense we would have health care ties between these three areas."

He added, "We are very lucky to have someone with Cathy's many years of experience."

Recently elected Village President Jeff Hingston said he has heard a lot of positive talk about the new facility around the community.

"I have heard a lot of chatter about it in the last month leading up to today," Mr. Hingston said. "It has been needed for a long time."

Mackinac Straits Health System board chair, Ronald Mitchell, agreed that the addition of a medical facility will be a great resource to Mackinaw City.

"The goal of this relationship with Mackinaw City is to assist the village and the surrounding area; to provide health care close to home without the need of driving a significant distance," Mr. Mitchell said.