Urgent care center fulfills a dream

SILVERTHORNE - Family practitioner Dr. Sue Dillon recognized a need for a medical center in Silverthorne more than five years ago and has finally found the perfect spot to open one.

She and her business partner, David James, president of Indiana-based Surgery Center Solutions, recently signed a 10-year lease with Wise Inc., the developer for the proposed Blue River Professional Building.

Under their business name, Ptarmigan Group, they plan to open the Silverthorne Medical Center, an urgent care center to be located in the heart of Silverthorne.

"I didn't know this at the time, but the majority of the population in Summit County lives in Silverthorne," Dillon said. "I was like, man, you know there's nothing over here. It just made sense."

Last week, the Silverthorne Town Council unanimously approved the final site plan for the building with a few landscaping and engineering conditions.

The structure will be built on a 1.29-acre, triangular parcel on Tanglewood Lane, adjacent to The Outlets at Silverthorne and across the street from the Village Inn restaurant.

The town council previously denied a site plan for a Freedom Harley-Davidson store on Aug. 28, 2002, for the same site.

The urgent care center will occupy about 4,500-square feet of the building with the remaining space to be used for a variety of professional offices such as health, real estate, government and insurance.

Ken Deshaies, a local real estate agent who represents Wise Inc., said originally there was concern the clinic would bring too much competition to the county, especially with the new hospital expected to open near Frisco at the end of the year.

About the Blue River Professional Building • The Silverthorne Town Council approved the final site plan Feb. 23 for the 11,000 square foot professional building on Tanglewood Lane. • Dr. Sue Dillon has signed a 10-year lease with the developer to open an urgent care center in about a third of the building. • Groundbreaking is set for April 13 and Dillon is hoping for a Nov. 1 opening. • The building’s developer, Wise Inc,. owns medical offices throughout the country and will purchase the Summit Vista Professional Building in Frisco.

"I think that objective has pretty much gone away," Deshaies said.

Dillon agrees.

"We're here to support the medical community, not to compete," Dillon said.

She said her patients will be ones who are unable to find an appointment elsewhere or who don't want to wait in the emergency rooms for minor injuries, such as an earache or sprained ankle.

Dillon's facility, which will be open seven days a week, will be set up to perform X-rays and will include a limited lab for blood, urinalysis and strep tests.

She's not sure exactly how many medical personnel will be on staff, but plans to have at least one physician, a physician's assistant, medical assistants, one or two nurses, lab and X-ray technicians and administrative staff.

Dillon has lived in Colorado since 1979, with a four-year stint in Chicago for medical school. She moved back to Denver in 1995 to complete her medical residency and began working for Vail Valley Medical Center in Eagle County in 1998 as an urgent-care provider.



Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998 ext. 229 or at nformosa@summitdaily.com