The nonprofit health-care provider Community Health Association of Spokane, which operates five clinics here, says it will consolidate its administrative operations into space it has leased in the Liberty Building downtown and will move 50 staff members there.

Separately, the organization, which is known informally as CHAS, plans to open a clinic in Lewiston, Idaho, using federal stimulus money it has received, says Peg Hopkins, the nonprofit's CEO.

CHAS provides medical and dental care regardless of whether patients have medical insurance or the ability to pay. For those who are uninsured, CHAS offers a self-pay sliding scale based on household income and family size. Its clinics are located at 1001 W. Second, 3919 N. Maple, and 4001 N. Cook, in Spokane; 9227 E. Main, in Spokane Valley; and 401 S. Main, in Deer Park.

Hopkins says the administrative personnel that will be moved to the new space downtown currently are spread among the five clinics. CHAS wants to move those employees to a central location to increase efficiency and free up space at the clinics for medical use.

The 14,800 square feet of space it has leased in the Liberty Building, located at 203 N. Washington, is being remodeled, and CHAS expects to occupy the space in July, Hopkins says.

Meanwhile, CHAS plans to open its sixth clinic, in Lewiston, in July, she says. The clinic will occupy about 2,100 square feet of leased space at 338 Sixth St., across from St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.

Initially, the clinic will have one doctor and one physician's assistant or registered nurse. Dental and pharmacy services will be outsourced to other providers there for now, Hopkins says.

A $1.3 million federal stimulus grant will pay for startup costs and the first two years of operation, she says. After that, the clinic will be funded similarly to how the Spokane clinics are, with grant funds, Medicaid, Medicare, and patient fees.

CHAS also has received $452,000 in federal stimulus money to expand its current services, she says. That money was granted to provide for an increase in demand for services, and CHAS plans to use it to hire two more doctors, she says.

"With a rise in unemployment, it results in a rise of uninsured who seek care," Hopkins says.