A few weeks after staff members moved into the new Del Puerto Health Center, the district’s board of directors set a grand-opening date during their regular meeting Monday, March 26.

The celebration, planned for 4 to 6 p.m. April 26, a Thursday, will include light refreshments, a ceremony and tours at 1700 Keystone Pacific Parkway.

The health center staff moved from Highway 33 and Ward Avenue to the newly remodeled building and opened for business March 5.

The move was a success, according to Chad Vargas, CEO of the Del Puerto Health Care District

“Things went really well,” Vargas told the board Monday. “We had a few hiccups along the way, but nothing that would keep us from seeing patients. All things told, it went extremely well.”

A few finishing touches are under way on the building, including an awning.

The board also voted Monday night to buy tables and lamps and adorn the walls with photographs by local photographer Michael Hilburn.

Hilburn’s work will explore the theme of Del Puerto Canyon and the Patterson community. He will also cooperate with historical society members Faye Hill and Claude Delphia to display historical photos of the surrounding area.

An artist, not yet selected, will paint a mural in the pediatrics section of the building.

The Del Puerto Health Center began downtown in June 2003 and moved a few years later to Ward Avenue. In the past nine years, doctors specializing in family practice and pediatrics have served the community.

With 11,000 square feet of space, the Keystone center will allow specialists in ophthalmology, dermatology and kidney dialysis to join the staff.

The building, which took a year to remodel, was purchased in fall 2010 with a $2.1 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Division.

It has 21 exam rooms, a digital X-ray room, doctors’ offices, a medical director’s office, six bathrooms, a break room with lockers for staff members, and a conference room.

n Contact Maddy Houk at 892-6187 or maddy@pattersonirrigator.com.