The first patients at the HealthFirst Family Care Center entered the doors of the brand-new, $11.5 million facility shortly after 8:00 a.m. on July 3, 2012. The event marked the culmination of nearly two years of planning and construction to renovate a former Quaker Fabric facility into a state-of-the-art medical clinic complete with dental and nutrition programs. The new facility and will also accommodate specialty services by Southcoast Hospitals Group, National Physical Therapy, and Standard Pharmacy. “As a native of Fall River, I’m so proud we’ve been able to breathe life back into this building,” Almond said. Charitable pledges were donated from BankFive, Baycoast Bank, the Rodgers Family Foundation, the Massachusetts Dental Society, Stafford & Co. Insurance and the Ida S. Charlton Charity Fund. Click here for the video. Click here for the Herald News article. Click here for photos of the beam signing and here for photos of the groundbreaking. For more information, call HealthFirst Director of Community Relations and Development Paula Harrison at 774-627-1204

(Top row, right) Herald News reporter Deborah Allard interviews HealthFirst Chief Executive Officer Julie Almond and Director of Community Relations and Development Paula Harrison in the lobby of the new facility. (Row two left) Ms. Allard interviews Dental Director Anila Khalid, DMD, who will oversee nine examination rooms, up from four in the old facility. (Row two, right) Fall River WIC Program Director Colleen Kenyon, Paula Harrison, safety officer Priscilla Alvarez, and Julie Almond pose for a photo with facility manager Barry Pelland. (Row three, left and center) Carlos Mendoza and Brenda Baez and their children Nayelie and Kiara are welcomed by Ms. Harrison and interpreter John Cabral as the first patients to enter the facility. (Row three, right) Mark Crump and Lisa DaCunha are greeted with a basket of fruit as the second patients to enter the facility. (Bottom row) Ms. Almond and pediatrician Joely Edwards, MD, take turns holding Brenda's two-month-old infant, Kiara, before she is weighed by Jodi Medeiros, LPN, as sister Nayelie looks on.