Petersburg – On May 1, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) will assume operations of Dr. Richard Sprague’s dental clinic, located at 15 Excel Street in downtown Petersburg. Dr. Sprague has built a trusted practice and SEARHC will continue existing dental services and expand dental care options at the renamed Oceanside Dental Clinic.
“While being available to all of you for 48 years has been a real joy, it is time to turn the operation over to someone else,” said Dr. Sprague. “We are confident that the new owner’s vision and values will benefit the entire community. They have committed to the continued availability of dental care for everyone and will be upgrading the practice over the next few weeks.”
Oceanside Dental Clinic will be a part of the larger dental services line within the SEARHC Care Network, with access to highly qualified staff and shared resources from across the Consortium. SEARHC is actively recruiting for Dr. Sprague’s successor and is working on scheduling specialty dental care providers in the near future, including pediatric dentistry.
“The SEARHC dental division strives to make the best possible dental care available to all Southeast Alaskans,” said Dr. Matthew West, SEARHC Director of Dental Services. “Dr. Sprague created a practice that has served for decades as a cornerstone for healthcare in Petersburg. SEARHC is excited to build on that foundation and aims to make our services easily accessible to all residents and visitors of Petersburg.”
The clinic will undergo a significant renovation prior to seeing patients, but patients are encouraged to call 907.772.3320 to schedule future appointments.
Oceanside Dental Clinic will join the recently opened Mountainside Behavioral Health as the first Petersburg additions to the SEARHC Care Network. Mountainside Behavioral Health opened on April 1 in the former Petersburg Mental Health Services location at 100 Fram Street.
Established in 1975, SEARHC is one of the largest and most historic Native-run health organizations in the US. As a nonprofit health consortium, SEARHC provides health-related services in 27 communities throughout Southeast Alaska. Visit searhc.org for more information.