Red Deer’s newest medical clinic should be ready for patients in about a month.
Horizon Family Medicine is expected to open in early April, said clinic manager Martin Penninga.
The 3,100-square-foot medical centre will be located in the southeast corner of Real Canadian Superstore. That 5016 51 Ave. business is currently undergoing renovations to accommodate Horizon Family Medicine and other additions.
The new clinic will have 12 examination rooms and related facilities, said Penninga. Six doctors will practise there, including four who have worked in Red Deer before: Drs. Nav Rattan, Marci Wilson, Ray Comeau, Mark Darby. New to the city will be Drs. Brian Dembinski and Kerri Johnstone, who both previously practised in the Medicine Hat region.
The clinic will serve walk-in patients as well as those booked for appointments, said Penninga.
“It’ll be the full spectrum of family medicine,” he added.
A growing number of medical clinics are opening in shopping centres and other retail sites, said Penninga, especially in larger cities. He was business manager with the Associate Medical Group when it moved its walk-in clinic to Bower Place Shopping Centre last spring.
“We thought this would be a very good opportunity,” he said of Horizon Family Medicine’s partnership with Real Canadian Superstore. “Again, it’s mixing the retail side with family medicine — and of course, having a pharmacy within close proximity is also an advantage for patients as well.”
Horizon Family Medicine will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
The renovations at Superstore, which is operated by Loblaw Companies Ltd., will also result in the addition of an optical department and sushi bar, among other changes. A building permit for work valued at $4 million was issued for the project in January.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com