Douglas Dispatch – CCHCI Celebrates 20 years of Dedicated Health Care

CCHCI CEO Dr. Jonathan Melk said Chiricahua now has an annual budget of over $20 million, 275 employees and over 26,000 patients. There are seven clinical sites located in the communities of Elfrida, Douglas, Bisbee and Sierra Vista; five mobile clinics that serve Willcox, and various rural area schools (including Douglas High School and others in Cochise County) and Benson had a Chiricahua facility open this past week.

Douglas is now the headquarters for Chiricahua Health Centers Inc. and home to three separate clinics (one of which is the Ginger Ryan Clinic) in addition to the administrative office. Dr. Melk said this all began because Whetten felt too many friends and neighbors did not have adequate access to health care and suffered the consequences as a result.

“Mr. Whetten and others members of the growing team of believers recruited Ginger …who was our founding CEO and would go on to successfully lead Chiricahua for nearly 20 years,” he said. “Like most health centers, Chiricahua’s beginnings were humble and the challenges great.”

On Aug. 26, 1996 Chiricahua opened its doors in what was then the Elfrida Community Center beginning with four employees and a “leap of faith”.

“The group immediately found both need and success and opened the ‘new clinic’ on Feb. 4, 1999,” he said. “Within the mortar of this building was laid the Purple Heart of Richard Sampson who is still working hard towards Chiricahua’s mission nearly 20 years later.”

Sampson’s Purple Heart, which he earned in Vietnam, remains in the foundation of the current clinic and that is how Chiricahua became known as the “Clinic with a Heart”.

Dr. Melk also took a moment to recognize Jeanie Butler who has been at the Elfrida clinic since it first opened. He added Chiricahua has experienced tremendous growth and is now strong and steadily expanding health system that serves all people of Cochise County which is the size of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.

“The Cliff Whetten clinic is our flagship program,” Dr. Melk said. “It continues to provide critical access to medical and dental services to over 1,300 valley residents.”

The CEO also announced at the event that the Elfrida clinic is scheduled for a complete remodel in 2017 which will feature more modern equipment in addition to a full-time medical provider who will live in Elfrida.

“As leader of Chiricahua I am very proud of our history and the current Cliff Whetten Clinic team,” Dr. Melk said. “This team is made up of highly motivated and committed individuals that bring CCHCI’s vision of ‘Health for All’ to life every day. Bruce Whetten, Cliff’s son and the Managing Editor for the Douglas Dispatch, spoke briefly on behalf of the family.

Ryan also spoke at the event and shared a memory about her first visit to the Whetten farm where she met Cliff and saw what she thought were chickens in the trees but only to learn they were another type of bird that she didn’t even know existed and they “scared the heck out of” her .

“Today brought back a lot of memories,” she said. “I met the most incredible people out here. … This group of people was led by an amazing man. Every time I needed help with something I would call Cliff and he would be there and that’s why this clinic worked.”

Ryan described Whetten as a prince to both her and the Elfrida community.  Sampson later presented gift baskets to Ryan and Cliff’s wife Claudia who also helped cut the cake commemorating the special occasion.