A new walk-in family clinic will open this summer at 307 Third St. downtown at the site of the former Lake Urgent Care Clinic, which closed in early March.
Downtown Healthcare and Wellness, as the new clinic will be called, will offer an array of primary care services with an emphasis on preventative care and wellness. The clinic will also offer anti-aging procedures like Botox injections, weight management and nutrition counseling, according to Liz Eure, a certified nurse practitioner who will co-own the clinic with Holly Chaney, also a nurse practitioner.
“There is a healthier population downtown, so there is an overall different need,” she says. “They need a fast primary care office where they can come in, do the biometrics for their insurance physicals, get a prescription refill, or a flu vaccination. We will offer an array of services and procedures.”
Joining Eure and Chaney on staff at the clinic will be two physicians—Dr. Michael Duplechain, a family practitioner, and Dr. Thomas Guillot, a plastic surgeon. Duplechain will work at the clinic on a limited basis, while Guillot will work by appointment two days a week, says Eure, who plans to add additional staff as needed.
When Lake Urgent Care closed after four years in operation downtown, officials with Our Lady of the Lake attributed their decision to low patient volume. Eure, who, with Chaney, worked at the clinic and is still employed by Lake After Hours, believes the new clinic can attract more patients by offering a broader array of primary and preventative care services.
“We’re offering more services to meet the needs of the downtown population,” she says.
Downtown Health and Wellness will also make office visits and house calls to downtown residents. Patients will be able to book appointments for such visits online, describing their symptoms in detail so Eure knows what supplies to pack in her medical bag.
She hopes to also offer concierge service to downtown residents, who, for an annual fee, would be guaranteed certain medical care from the clinic.
The clinic will treat patients of all ages over 18 months.
Downtown Health and Wellness assumes the lease to the Third Street space later this month and is planning a soft opening in mid-June, with an official ribbon cutting scheduled for July 13. The clinic will be open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
—Stephanie Riegel
