Friends of La Clinica donned hardhats, grabbed shovels and shifted dirt on the planned site of the health provider’s new clinic on Market Street Thursday.

The ceremony, attended by the nonprofit’s board and steering committee members and other supporters, was designed to mark La Clinica’s public commitment to expanding its Acute Care Clinic.

The project involves building a new 7,038-square-foot facility and remodeling the 2,728-square-foot Acute Care Clinic nearby.

The result will offer a dozen exam rooms — the clinic currently has six — X-ray and ultrasound services, a STAT lab for faster test results, and a pharmacy with a drive-through option.

“This is going to be a hub,” said Lyn Hennion, a steering committee member.

Since last year, La Clinica has been quietly raising money among the organization’s “friends and family,” including foundation partners — roughly $1.2 million so far — according to Maria Underwood, La Clinica’s chief development officer.

Thursday’s event kicked off the community-giving campaign.

By June 2024, the organization hopes to raise $4.4 million in contributions or pledges and to finish construction.

Al Densmore, a steering committee member and former Medford mayor, councilor and state representative, told the assembled: “Let’s make sure that we, all together, learn about the project, celebrate the start of it, and … respond when we’re called for support.”

The late-afternoon event, which included snacks, refreshments and a live guitar performance beneath a tent, offered a tour of the existing clinic. A banner with illustrations of the expansion plans was displayed aloft between an excavator and front-end loader in the space where the new clinic will rise.

Health care systems in the Rogue Valley have shut down many urgent and acute care clinics, where people with immediate medical needs can receive same-day treatment and avoid the emergency room.

Hennion said, “Getting emergency care is extraordinarily expensive and difficult.” She added: “There are not enough urgent care facilities in this valley.”

Originally founded for the local Hispanic community, La Clinica now serves anyone in need.

Lynne Lowe has been on La Clinica’s board of directors for a few months and has been a patient for about 10 years.

“A lot of people wait until the last minute to see a doctor, or they’re afraid of doctors, and I always tell people that La Clinica is not a place to be afraid. … You go there and they’ll care about you,” Lowe said.

Brenda Johnson, La Clinica’s chief executive officer, said in a speech, “From our perspective, relieving human pain and suffering is one of the most noble things that we can do. … I would say that it’s one of the most profound expressions of kindness, as well.

“So we’re really fortunate to be in the world of health care and serving people who really do need us in that way,” she continued. “And, frankly, we have unnecessary suffering in this community.”

Dr. Jim Shames, the former Jackson County medical director, said in an interview that La Clinica is “really well run.”

“It’s a major project, and they’re going to be involved in it, you can be sure it’s going to be done right,” Shames said.

To learn about the expansion, visit laclinicahealth.org/about/donate/acute-care-clinic/

To contribute online, visit laclinicahealth.org/donate-today/