New Cross Trails center in Advance, Mo., to open Monday

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Wesbecher Construction has put the finishing touches on the new Advance Cross Trails Medical/Dental Center in the middle of downtown Advance.

The new facility will be open for patients Monday, one year and two months after the ground-breaking. Between governmental red tape and initial wet weather during construction, observers were wondering if the new building would ever be completed.

Dental and medical departments will share a common reception office, opening out on two sides to accommodate the medical waiting room on the west side and the dental on the east, as the patient enters from the front Gabriel Street entrance.

Ann Schamburg, family nurse practitioner, will see patients in the new facility at 8 a.m. Monday. Paul Corbin will be Cross Trails' first patient in the new facility. Corbin, who will be 96 in November, has never made an appointment with a physician in his life; however, he has decided to celebrate his 96th year of life by having a complete physical examination at the the new Advance Cross Trails.

Dr. Brad Milde, son of longtime Advance dentist Dr. Mark Milde, will be seeing patients in the facility, also starting Monday. The new facility has three dental rooms that are outfitted for patients; however, three more rooms are being held in reserve, in case Cross Trails gets a second dentist.

To make dental appointments for the new Advance office before Monday, patients need to call the Cape office of Cross Trails at 573-332-0808 or the Marble Hill office at 573-238-2725. Beginning Monday, they can call the Advance clinic at 722-3034.

A brand new X-ray machine awaits service, and a "procedural room" is in the back of the building, where minor emergencies can be treated.

A new lab is directly across the hall from the nurses' station.

The new Cross Trails is also ready for power outages, such as the ones which occurred in 2008 and 2009 when ice storms took out the power in the region. Cross Trails' generator will spring into action in 10 to 15 seconds after the power is off, and it is capable of running the entire clinic indefinitely.

The Advance Cross Trails Clinic will be closed today and Friday in order to move from the old to the new facility.

"We're very pleased with the new health center and feel that it'll be an asset not only to Advance but to the entire area," said Advance Mayor Pete Ritter. "The center will be able to offer medical and dental services, and anything besides major surgery. We are 100 percent behind this medical facility and will do our best to accommodate area residents, who come here for treatment."