Kaniksu Health Services, a Bonners Ferry, Idaho-based health-care service provider that serves low-income residents in North Idaho's two northern-most counties, says it plans to begin construction of a new $1.25 million community-health center this month.

The 9,000-square-foot center, to be called the Boundary Regional Community Health Center, will be located at 6615 Comanche Street in Bonners Ferry, just east of the current about 3,000-square-foot health center, says Kaniksu CEO Victoria McClellan King. She says the new center will house primary-care medical, dental, and behavioral-health services.

Coeur d'Alene-based Ginno Construction Co. is the general contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed in July. Dahlberg Architects, also of Coeur d'Alene, provided the architectural services for the project.

The new community health center is being funded by a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program, McClellan King says. That federal program is designed to provide financial support for essential public facilities, such as housing, health clinics, and emergency service facilities, to improve the quality of life in rural communities, the program's Web site says.

McClellan King says the Bureau of Primary Healthcare, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also gave Kaniksu a $500,000 grant for the construction of its new center.

Kaniksu currently is renting the building that houses many of its primary-care services from the neighboring Boundary Community Hospital, while the health center's dental services are located in a separate building on the parcel of land where the new center will be constructed. The dental-services building will be demolished once the new center is complete to make room for a parking lot, and all of the organization's operations in Bonners Ferry will be under one roof, she says.

The new building will include 12 exam rooms, five more than the current clinic, and five dental procedure rooms, which is three more than it has now. She adds that she also expects Kaniksu to add two more medical providers and another dentist, giving it a total of four medical providers and two dentists.

Because of its increased size, the new Boundary Regional Community Health Center will enable Kaniksu to more than double the number of patients it serves annually, to about 9,000 from about 4,000 currently, McClellan King says.

"There is a tremendous need in this area for accessible health care at a cost people can afford," she says, adding that because there aren't many large employers in North Idaho that offer health-care benefits, many people in Bonner and Boundary counties are without insurance or are underinsured.

Kaniksu Health Services also operates a community health center in Sandpoint, located at 1327 Superior.

Both of the centers provide primary medical, dental, and behavioral-health services to anyone in the community, regardless of their ability to pay, through what's called a sliding-fee discount to those who qualify, based on income and family size, she says.

McClellan King says Kaniksu also plans to take over operation of a third clinic, located in Priest River, Idaho. Bonner General Hospital currently operates that facility, offering primary medical services there. Kaniksu will begin operating the clinic in March or April, after which dental and behavioral-health services will be added to the health services offered there, she says.

Kaniksu Health Services is part of the Idaho Primary Care Association, which represents the state's network of community health centers.