Merit Health River Region celebrated the opening of its long-awaited medical clinic this week, bringing clinical and pediatric care closer to home, so to speak.

The new clinic brings the services available at the Street Clinic to the hospital’s main campus on U.S. 61 North, making the complex more of a one-stop-shop for health care.

“The new building brings state-of-the-art care closer to our main campus, moving from an older building to our new medical office building. It’s a good segue for the future,” said Greg Pearson, CEO of Merit Health River Region.

The completion of the project is reason to celebrate. Patients going in for a variety of services will no longer have to make the trip across town for lab testing at the hospital. If a patient needs to be admitted to the main facility, it is literally next door.

“This is truly a great day for Merit Health River Region,” Pearson said. “It took a lot of hard work from a lot of different people.”

But it’s not just a homecoming for the clinic. The new building is also an expansion.

The new three-story 64,000 square-foot building will house therapy services, an orthopedic clinic a gym for physical, occupational and speech therapy. These services have been available, but they are not all under one roof and more easily accessible. The second floor combines primary care services, and the third floor houses allergists, urologists and rheumatologists.

“Merit Health River Region has been an outstanding community health provider. We look forward to the continued partnership with this great hospital,” Flaggs said.

The new complex also shows the hospital is continuing to grow to serve our community and as its name implies the entire region.

“The Merit Health market is doing phenomenal and they’ve acquired a bunch of different hospital and this is just an added edition to River Region,” said Fermika Smith, a clinic manager with the hospital.

The hospital is also a major employer with a payroll of $62 million. Let’s hope the expansion continues.