Phase One of the Penn Highlands Healthcare project would also include a paved parking lot with 116 parking spaces that could also be used by a Phase Two building. The project will be built in Monroe Township along Route 68 adjacent to Pizza Hut on the top of the hill where the C&K office building once stood.

Steve Fontaine, CEO of Penn Highlands Healthcare, discussed plans for Clarion last November at the 100th anniversary celebration of Brookville Hospital, now known as Penn Highlands Brookville. Penn Highlands Health announced last year a massive $111 million System Master Facilities Plan that includes Clarion.

The new Clarion building will house a QCare walk-in clinic with ancillary services, such as imaging and lab, according to information previously released by Penn Highlands. Primary and specialty care super clinics will house multiple providers. This building also will be able to support virtual care to the extent that it could be called a virtual hospital. Using innovative technology, virtual clinics will allow specialty providers to reach out and see patients and provide care at any time from multiple locations. This will minimize the need for patients in the Clarion region to travel for specialty care.

Phase Two proposes the future addition of an approximate 10,000 square foot medical office building and a new paved access drive with a 24-foot cartway connecting the northerly end of the parking lot to the east side of Route 68.

Phase One would utilize the existing Holiday Inn Road to enter the project.

Penn Highlands purchased two parcels of land in 2016, and the transactions were recorded at the Office of Clarion County Register and Recorder.  They included a 5.21-acre parcel of land from Keith A. Chernicky at a listed sale price of $1 (the former C&K Headquarters) and another 0.961-acre parcel of land from Klingensmith Properties at a listed sale price of $775,000.00.

The general area for the project includes many existing health care providers, including Clarion Hospital now a partner with the Butler Health System VA Outpatient Clinic, Primary Health Care, UPMC Urgent Care, UPMC physician offices, and Clarion LIFE Northwest PA Center for qualifying seniors age 55 and over.

With the five hospitals of Penn Highlands Healthcare (Penn Highlands Brookville, Penn Highlands Clearfield, Penn Highlands DuBois, Penn Highlands Elk, and Penn Highlands Huntingdon) and the 12-county region it serves, Penn Highlands said it strives to provide exceptional quality, safety, and service.

In other business, the commission granted final approval for two 1,440 square foot warehouses and building additions to Marty Sanders in Salem Township and the Knox United Methodist Church in Beaver Township.

Planning Commission members attending included Keith Decker, Hugh Henry, Joseph A. Burns, Jr., Eugene E. Metcalf, and Roger M. Nulph. Also attending were Planning Director Kristi Amato, Planning Assistant Steve Ketner, and County Engineer Kevin Reichard.