We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The Sweet Medical Center will be hosting the Chinook Chamber’s June Business After Hours gathering. Each month a business member of the Chamber hosts an opportunity for guests to visit in a relaxed atmosphere and learn about what the sponsoring business offers. The events are always open to anyone wishing to attend.
Dana Pyette, the Chief Executive Officer at the medical center, said, “At the After Hours we will be having a barbeque, tours of the facility, providing information about the clinic’s services and giving guests a chance to meet the staff in a relaxed setting. There’ll also be live music and we’ll be rolling out the details of our Sweet Escapes 2016 Dream Vacation raffle.”
Pyette said Drs. Larry Obie and Robert Chaffin’s offices and staff would also be participating in the After Hours event. Dr. Obie operates the vision and eye care service and Dr. Chaffin operates Chinook Dental. Both services are housed in the Chinook location along with other Sweet Medical operations.
A little historical background
The Chinook Medical Center began operation in 1980. At that time there was a pharmacy, dental service, optometry office, x-ray capability, a medical lab and offices for the various providers. The clinic was a branch of Havre Clinic and Dr. Robert Leeds was the principal doctor. In 1988 the clinic became known as the Sweet Medical Center.
The clinic now has clinic services in both Harlem and Chinook. The Chinook clinic is located at 419 Pennsylvania and the Harlem location is in the Harlem Senior Center at 116 Main Street. The vision care and dental care practices are housed at the Chinook location.
Sweet Medical is a designated community health center (CHC). Community health centers are pivotal health care providers for areas in the nation that have underserved and under-insured populations. Sweet Medical, and other community health centers, provide comprehensive primary care and charge on a sliding scale based on patient income. The local clinic is governed by a board of directors and, by law, a majority of those board members must also be patients at the center.
Plans for the Business After Hours Activities
Plans call for many opportunities for guests to learn about and see what is going on at Sweet Medical Center. CEO Pyette said there will be tours of the facility and staff will be available to meet guests and answer questions. Live music will be provided by the Stronebroke String Band. One of the band members, Jeanni Powell, is an employee at Chinook Dental.
Pyette said, “We will also use the Business After Hours gathering to roll out the details of our Sweet Escapes 2016 Dream Vacation raffle.” The raffle, which involves several chances to win a variety of travel and vacation packages, is billed as having “29 changes to win!” Raffle tickets will cost $200 and only 300 will be sold. Pyette added, “The proceeds for this first major fundraiser will be used to purchase an emergency power generator for the center. Any raffle income above the cost of the generator will be used to start a foundation for Sweet Medical Center.”
The Sweet Escapes 2016 raffle tickets are now on sale. Each quarter there will be a drawing and the winning ticket provides a trip for four people (four night/five-day) to such locations as Los Angeles, Nashville, and other destination possibilities, some in Mexico and Canada. Each month there will also be a drawing for a “Montana Trip”—a three night/four-day package to several popular Montana destinations from Glacier and Yellowstone Parks to Chico Hot Springs, Fairmont and other well-known Big Sky favorites. During the monthly drawings, a runner up ticket will be drawn and that ticket will yield $200 in cash.
To get the word out about the raffle, there will be an “Early Bird Drawing” on July 16, during the Blaine County Fair. The early bird winner gets $1,000 cash. Tickets for the raffle can be purchased at the Sweet Medical Center. Readers can find more information about the Sweet Escape 2015 by going to http://www.sweetmedicalcenter.org and clicking on ‘raffle.’
So mark your calendar for the Business After Hours on Thursday, June 9th. The event will be at the Chinook location at 419 Pennsylvania. The event runs from 6pm-8pm and everyone is welcome.
