After years of struggles, a group of 1960s activists finally saw El Rio Health Center open its brand-spanking new doors in Menlo Park. That was in 1978.
The one-story building at 839 W. Congress St., west of Interstate 10, was a vindication made of concrete, iron and glass in the quest for a place to provide better health care for Tucsonans too poor to pay their medical bills.
Now the facility which has been the center of a health crusade against maladies like diabetes and where the midwifery section has prepared countless expectant mothers, will be razed to make way for a new and improved building that will surpass the current structure, officials said.
The groundbreaking for the new Congress Street clinic will be Friday. El Rio officials believe that the facility will open by mid-2014.
The aging, one-story, 36,000-square-foot building was originally built to serve 7,000 patients. It now serves about 15,000, said Richard Spaulding, El Rio's strategic facilities director.
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The future two-story building will have 54,000 square feet, will boast a coffee bar, homey decor, additional parking, high-tech equipment and more space, Spaulding said. In addition, the future building will house up to 25 more medical professionals and contain an improved medical-records section, a revamped midwifery section and a kitchen to teach patients how to cook healthier meals.
Spaulding, who was present during El Rio's 1970s opening, is filled with enthusiasm.
"It's a new beginning," he said.
For Miguel Rojas, one of the original El Rio board members and '60s activists, the new health center will be something to behold, a place that will be truly on par with the best health-care system the city has to offer.
Before El Rio, there were a few physicians scattered around town who saw the poor for free, said Rojas, a city of South Tucson councilman. They were overloaded with work, and not everyone had a chance to see them, he said.
In 1970, Mother Higgins, a former juvenile detention center on South Freeway Road, was transformed into the first El Rio clinic. Support came from the late Dr. Herbert K. Abrams of the University of Arizona's Department of Family and Community Medicine.
But by the mid-1980s, the health centers were plagued by poor management, lack of funds and overreaching. In came Robert Gomez, a new director who, with a team of administrators, managed to steer El Rio in the right direction, Rojas said.
Today, Executive Director Kathy Byrne oversees 17 health centers across the city, a $90 million annual budget and more than 800 employees who serve 78,000 people per year. El Rio has garnered awards for its top-notch diabetes programs and other initiatives.
The current building - named after Gomez - will remain operational until the new center is erected, Spaulding said. There will be a transition phase before it is finally razed. The new building will retain Gomez's name.
Stephanie Leon, 23, a young mother who has given birth to her two children at El Rio, said she plans to have another child and is happy that the midwifery section will have more room. While she is happy with the services now, she said, she believes they will improve with the new facility.
"It will be a lot better. There will be more privacy for women," she said.
Contact reporter Joseph Treviño at jtrevino@azstarnet.com or 807-8029.
