Featured Columnists
Beachcombing
From Issue: Volume XX - Number 13
6/29/2012
Jay Beeler
In recent weeks we’ve observed renovation activity at the old Borders Books site on Bellflower Boulevard. Several knowledgeable persons in the commercial real estate business told us that MemorialCare plans to open an urgent care and primary physician center by the end of this year.
We asked executives at MemorialCare Health System and its MemorialCare Medical Group to answer a few questions pertaining to the new facility:
Why is MemorialCare with its MemorialCare Medical Group pursuing this strategy?
MemorialCare Health System and our three hospitals in Long Beach continue to expand our services and add new locations to ensure our communities have convenient and easy access to physicians and ancillary services for all their primary care needs. This new location for MemorialCare Medical Group, expected to open before year’s end, will include primary care physicians (family medicine physicians, internal medical physicians and pediatricians) as well as urgent care services for minor ailments, plus onsite x-ray and laboratory services.
Can you give us more specifics about the facility?
The new facility is 30,000 square feet and situated in space we will renovate that was formerly occupied by Border’s in the Los Altos MarketCenter at 2110 Bellflower Blvd. MemorialCare and one of its major physician organizations, MemorialCare Medical Group, is leasing the space initially for 11 years with an option to continue another 10 years. It is also located near our Long Beach hospitals—Long Beach Memorial, Community Hospital Long Beach and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach. The medical director will be David Kim, M.D., a highly experienced leader in family medicine in Southern California.
What type of programs and services will be offered at the faciilty?
We will start with about 7 MemorialCare Medical Group physicians in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics as well as onsite urgent care, laboratory and x-ray services. The number of physicians is expected to more than double in the future and will also include several specialists. It will also include clinical and support staff, like nurses and clinicians specializing in x-ray and laboratory services plus other clinical and support personnel. The number of employees will increase as physicians are added
How busy to you expect the facility to be?
At full physician capacity it could be in excess of 100,000 visits annually. There is convenient parking adjacent to the building for patients. MemorialCare Medical Group is committed to adding physicians and services that best meet the needs of the local community.
How did you make the decision for this new medical office building?
This new facility expands upon MemorialCare Health System and MemorialCare Medical Group’s strategy to locate primary care physicians and specialists in areas where there are needs for additional physicians and where we can offer several services in convenient locations. In addition to physician practices and other medical services, the urgent care facility, laboratory and x-ray services will make services more available in one convenient location like Los Altos MarketCenter. Establishing this new medical facility is critical to the Long Beach and surrounding communities and their needs for primary care physicians and services today and in the future. The new facility will serve as an access point for community members looking for comprehensive primary care services in one location.
Why did MemorialCare and its MemorialCare Medical Group select Los Altos?
We have met with businesses in the area, and all reacted positively to the project because it offers the community high quality medical and health services. One of the fastest growing trends in the health care industry is locating health care services in retail areas convenient to patients and communities. MemorialCare and our MemorialCare Medical Group have three health clinics called HealthExpress located in ALBERTSONS/Savon Pharmacy stores in Orange County. This new Long Beach facility expands even further upon that trend to offer primary care physicians and ancillary medical services in highly convenient community locations.
How will this impact patient care?
This new medical facility will be very conducive to patient care and incorporate many new physician office space designs creating a warm and caring environment for our patients.
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