Tacoma REI might get new neighbor. Here’s what we know about a planned medical clinic
A recent permit filing with the City of Tacoma outlines plans for a new medical clinic in a shopping center near Interstate 5 that is home to REI, among other tenants.
The Aug. 31 filing outlines plans for a Vera Whole Health site at 3815 Steele St., in the Rainier Place Shopping Center.
The filing calls for remodeling existing space for a 5,266 square-foot medical office.
The company did not respond to requests for comment on the plans. A representative for the center’s owner/management firm, Bianco Properties of Creve Coeur, Missouri, also did not respond to questions about the project.
The remodel is valued at more than $1.5 million, according to the permitting information, and anticipated to start in October.
According to its website, Vera Whole Health offers advanced primary care.
It focuses on partnering with large employers, provider groups and health plans to offer preventive health care services in addition to primary care.
The Seattle-based company, which launched in 2008, merged in 2022 with San Francisco-based Castlight Health Inc., creating Apree Health. Vera Whole Health is the advanced primary care delivery arm for the company.
As part of Apree, patients are assigned integrated care teams that include primary care providers, health coaches, behavioral health clinicians and more.
According to Vera Whole Health website, services include preventive care (health screenings and coaching), well women exams and family planning, vaccinations, chronic disease management (diabetes, hypertension, depression), acute care (coughs and colds, wound care, sprains, etc.) and support services, including on-site labs.
Construction plans for the Tacoma site submitted to the city include labs, exam rooms and a consultation room, among other features.
“Our model is uniquely designed to help people achieve optimum social, psychological, and physical well-being — an outcome that’s neither probable nor affordable within the current sick-care system,” the company’s website states.
In its most recent news release Sept. 6, Apree Health announced a partnership between Vera Whole Health-Castlight Health and Cement Masons and Plasterers Health and Welfare Trust, which serves represented workers in the Puget Sound region, Alaska and Eastern Washington/Idaho.
That announcement noted a sixth Vera Whole Health site “planned to open in spring 2024” to join five already operating in the Puget Sound region.
Vera Whole Health’s website shows medical offices in Tukwila, Kirkland, Everett and two in Seattle. Other locations include Portland, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Alaska, Arizona and Texas.
The partnership announcement said Vera Whole Health would “provide more than 3,500 medically enrolled members and their families with a differentiated healthcare experience that delivers improved health outcomes at a reduced total cost of care.”
Primary care for the labor trust members at Vera Care Centers “will be provided with no out-of-pocket cost–no copays, co-insurance and deductibles,” according to the Sept. 6 announcement.
“Additionally, they can easily access the Castlight mobile app to search for providers, view benefits and medical claims, connect with Care Guides to talk to experts on healthcare benefits and get help in finding care, plus much more.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2023 at 5:15 AM.
