A longtime Vicksburg pharmacy, Battlefield Discount Drugs, plans to open a second location in February inside Medical Associates of Vicksburg on South Frontage Road, clinic and company officials said Wednesday.

Addition of a place to fill prescriptions is another step in expansion of the outpatient clinic inside the remodeled former Sack & Save grocery store. Medical services in the clinic are operated by Central Mississippi Medical Center and staffed by a team of doctors headed by Vicksburg internist Dr. Paul Pierce III.

Chad Barrett, co-owner of the Indiana Avenue prescription and retail outlet, said the additional location will be much like the current one, established in 1979. It will remain staffed and open for business, Barrett said.

“Dr. Pierce wanted it to make it convenient for people,” Barrett said, adding he and co-owner John Storey will offer compounded medications to meet patient needs.”

In a statement, the clinic’s operators welcomed the addition of a pharmacy with strong local ties to its array of exams offered and laboratory testing.

“We are very pleased that Battlefield Discount Drugs has chosen to lease a location inside the development complex with Medical Associates of Vicksburg to expand their business,” CMMC’s CEO Joe D. Pinion said. “The pharmacy and its owner/operators have longstanding, excellent reputations in the community.”

Standard medical services are offered at the clinic, as well as CT scans and bone density services. Patients needing hospitalization are referred to River Region Medical Center as well as CMMC in Jackson. 

Medical Associates opened in July as a new competitor to River Region Health Systems in local health care, which provides most clinical and all inpatient services. River Region is a subsidiary of Community Health Systems, based in Franklin, Tenn. It represents a consolidation of originally private medical companies, including Vicksburg Medical Center, Vicksburg Clinic, Mercy Regional Medical Center and The Street Clinic and opened its acute care hospital on U.S. 61 North in February 2002.

With a pharmacy lined up, expansion of the CMMC clinic will turn to offering rehabilitative services and an outlet for DME, or durable medical equipment. Related services that will fill remaining space in  the 16,000-square-foot building are in the works, developers have said.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com.