PORT ANGELES — The Lower Elwha Klallam’s new health clinic rang with the chimes of brass bells Friday as tribal members blessed the spacious facility at 243511 W. U.S. Highway 101.
The ceremony came just in time for the clinic to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients who private physicians are reluctant to treat and who could be left without primary care when the Virginia Mason clinic closes in Port Angeles.
Eight women carried candles, and two men rang handbells in a procession that wound through the clinic three times.
They blessed each of its 80 rooms, wafting blessings from the candle flames on each pass. Each pass took about 30 minutes.
All the while, Shaker Church elder Pat Bennett danced and rang handbells in front of an altar in the clinic’s waiting room.
The room’s skylights and huge windows that look toward the Olympic Mountains gave it an airy feel. The space serves as waiting room and gallery of artworks by Lower Elwha members.
High on one wall was Clark Mundy’s huge hammered-copper face of a full moon set into a circular carved wood frame.
On another wall hung a giant cedar canoe paddle, carved by Al Charles Jr. and Darrell Charles Jr.
Over the reception desk was a wide button blanket embroidered by Serena Antioquia depicting how the Klallam tribe won its name, which means “strong people.”
“I felt that how a building welcomes you says a lot about how you’ll feel receiving services,” said Cecile Greenway, tribal health and social services director.
