Tribes breaks ground on new convalescent center

Ceremonial gold shovels overturned dirt after prayers, songs and speeches Tuesday, celebrating the coming construction of a new convalescent center north of Elmer City, where the Colville Tribes will build the new facility for elders and other clientele.

Praise was high for the project and those who moved obstacles and legislatures to get it underway, but details were scarce.

Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Business Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, said he wasn't yet sure how much it was going to cost, but he referenced funding that has been approved and an enhanced rate for care.

"We're trying to make sure every room has a view of the river," he said.

Behind him under the blue sky lay an expanse of flat land, a bench above the Columbia River below Spirit Ridge Road. Just across the road is the entry to the tribal Fish and Wildlife Department. The other way, the road leads to the boat launch on Lake Rufus Woods.

Nespelem District Representative Alison Ball, chair of Health and Human Services, said that after negotiations, the rate paid for care under the state and federal Medicaid program has been increased to the point that makes the financing feasible.

Ball credited the late Janet Nicholson for helping by testifying at the Washington State Legislature and negotiating with the state Health Care Authority.

The reimbursement rate has come from $154 a day in the early days of the current Colville Convalescent Center to the new negotiated rate of $944 a day, she said.

"I already had my room picked out up at the hospital overlooking the four corners," said Omak District Representative Mel Tonasket, "but you build this one, and if I'm around, I'm gonna be down here picking one looking over that river, so I can see my old house where we lived over there."

Erickson said they hope to start construction in the early spring of 2025.

Paul Tillman, of Elmer City, will be in charge of overseeing the construction. "We need somebody that knows what they're doing, and Paul definitely knows how ... to get it done," Ball said.