The Bethesda Primary Care Centre held its grand opening ceremony this morning.

Garth Reimer is the chair of the Bethesda Foundation. Reimer says this facility started as a dream in 2011 and he's happy to see it become a reality. He notes one dimension of this project includes doctor recruitment.

Chair of the Bethesda Foundation Garth Reimer speaking at the Bethesda Primary Care Centre grand opening."About five or six years ago the Steinbach City Council was concerned about doctor recruitment. One dimension of this project being so important is that there has been modern, first class, latest technology meetings built to allow doctors to practice in a great environment," says Reimer. "If they only have that in the City of Winnipeg, that's a problem. Some of the smaller communities in the province struggle with attracting doctors. So, we thought with providing a top-notch facility, [that was one way] of attracting doctors."

He notes there's going to be 23 physicians operating from day one and they hope to get up to 30.

City of Steinbach mayor Chris Goertzen says the Bethesda Primary Care Centre is a unique facility which will help improve healthcare for the citizens of Steinbach and the entire region.

"There's going to be an opportunity for more doctors to come to Steinbach because of a state-of-the-art facility. It also has more services under one roof which is important for efficiency. So we really look forward to citizens taking advantage of this space. In years to come, you're going to see an increase in doctors. You're also going to see dollars returned to the community and be reinvested in healthcare because of this facility."

Goertzen adds healthcare is important for a city's growth and stability and so he's pleased to see the opening of this new facility.

Health minister and Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen says it's a project which will help attract medical professionals to Steinbach as well as be an example to surrounding communities.

"It's an example for the medical system about how different groups, different providers, and different care providers can come together and work as a team. That's really where the system is going, that team approach in medicine to ensure that when a patient comes into a facility there's a variety of different practitioners who can support their need so they don't have to go to a number of different places."

He adds healthcare is always changing which can cause challenges when trying to create a facility to last for decades, but says this care centre has allowed for room in technology advancements to help it last well into the future.

Reimer says the Bethesda Primary Care Centre is phase one with phase two currently being built across the street and set to open November 1. He adds there have also been talks and dreams of phases three through five which would cover a span of 10-acres in the future.

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