Upon completion of the new Lummi Health Care Center, Cornerstone as the general contractor alongside KMD Architects as the designer, joined the Lummi Nation community to celebrate the grand opening of the facility. The center offers health care to members of the Lummi Nation from medical exams and dentistry to physical therapy and behavioral health. The ceremony was marked with Lummi Nation traditional dance, music and spoken presentations.
Dr. Dakotah Lane, the facility's executive medical director, addressed the crowd. He shared a story about how he was diagnosed with hearing loss as a child at the former facility. He stressed the impact of the care and the hearing aids that he had received, and how without that care, he might have fallen behind in school and likely would not have been able to become a doctor.
The new 50,000-square-foot facility features five wings of wellness: pediatrics, adult medical, dental, occupational and physical therapy, and mental health. Each wing shares a common check-in area for gatherings and community engagement. The space includes both a café and a commissary kitchen for cooking demonstrations where traditional cooking techniques and recipes can be shared with younger generations.
"The most beautiful thing about building the Lummi Health Care Center is how this building is so critical to the ongoing health and wellness of the Lummi People," said Pieter VanDamme, Cornerstone's superintendent for the project. "The importance of this facility was shared in oral tradition with our project team throughout the course of construction and at the grand opening ceremony. Not only will the facility serve the Lummi People and their wellbeing, it will also help protect their traditions because the building will serve as a central hub and gathering place."
The thoughtful design of the space affords visitors opportunities for connection with natural elements such as the full height douglas fir trees used for the interior columns; a large two-sided fireplace with seating around it both inside and outside; and a flowing creek that runs throughout the building decorated with hand-painted and fired ceramic salmon made by Lummi artists.
"Being part of the construction of the Lummi Health Care Center was very special," continued VanDamme. "This building is more than a medical facility, it's a building with meaning, history and importance for this generation and the next."
