Magalia clinic survives

Last fall, we reported on the travails of the Magalia-Pines Family Practice Clinic, the only medical clinic serving the 18,000 people of the Upper Ridge ( “Clinic on life support,” Sept. 28, 2006). At the time, because of foot-dragging on the part of county officials, it was unable to begin construction on a new facility, while its current offices were slated for demolition to make way for a new Rite-Aid.

Well, things seem to be working out. The county picked up the pace and got the clinic the zoning it needed to build a new facility, and construction is expected to be completed in six weeks. Meanwhile, Rite-Aid has begun construction, but it demolished only half of the building the clinic is in, leaving the clinic’s rooms standing and allowing it to continue operating in the interim.

“Rite-Aid has been really willing to work with us,” Don Sakal, a nurse who runs the clinic with his wife, Dr. Lujin Sakal, told the Paradise Post. He said he hoped to have the new clinic’s doors open in a couple of months.