MHC History

May 15, 1955 marks the date of the ground breaking celebration for the Community Christian Church.  The building that would be used as a Sunday School classroom, would later become the site of the first Clinic.  It was established in 1956 when a minister and parishioners of the Community Church realized a need for medical care for the migratory farm workers in the area.  One doctor and nurse team from Tucson started seeing patients one-half day twice a month.  Clerical work and transportation was provided by the Marana Women’s Club volunteers.

Marana Health Center, incorporated in 1957, is the oldest Community Health Center in Arizona providing continuous health care.

In 1964, a separate clinic building was built with money and labor received through a fundraising drive in the Marana Community.  Additional volunteers from Tucson and Marana enabled the clinic to open one day a week, offering the services of two doctors, one dentist and two registered nurses.  A fee for service was charged and a sliding fee schedule was established.  This made it possible to provide medical care to a wider patient population, including indigent and medically underserved.

As the population of this area increased, so did the need for a primary health care facility which would be available to the entire community.  In July, 1972, the National Health Service Corps entered into an agreement with the Marana Clinic to provide health provider personnel for what was designated as a Critical Health Manpower Shortage area.  In 1975, a Hill-Burton grant was obtained with the help of the University of Arizona Department of Family and Community medicine.  This was used to enlarge the building to its present size.  The clinic building belongs to the people of Marana, and is standing on land which is leased from the Marana Community Christian Church for one dollar per year.

The Clinic was then open five and one-half days a week, with medical personnel on emergency call twenty-four hours a day.  The medical providers and their supporting staff numbered thirty.

With the increase in services and personnel and the complexities of business management, an administrator was hired full-time in January 1977.

In November 1977, the Clinic opened the Radiology Department.

A physician from the Arizona Rural Health Federation saw patients in the Clinic two half-days a week.  He, along with the full-time physician, was concerned with providing medical care for the whole person.  This “family practice” approach to health care enabled our physicians to deal with the wide variety of illnesses and accidents seen at a rural community clinic.  On July 1, 1978, a second full-time physician joined the staff.

April 28, 1999 marked the date of Marana Health Center’s own ground breaking ceremony, followed by “A Celebration of Growth” March 31, 2000 to commemorate the expansion of the facility.

The second building dedication in 1964 stated “The present modern facility is the result of years of hard work and dedication by local residents to provide primary health care for all persons in this rural community.”  Forty seven years later Marana Health Center proudly upholds the same dedication and commitment to the community.  Some of the founding family members are still among our patients.

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