Saint Mary’s expanding clinic services

Saint Mary’s Medical Group is expanding its services north and northwest of Reno’s downtown this year and additional services will be available in the south area.

A new urgent care center will open in North Valleys in August.

The clinic off Lemmon Drive and Sky Vista Parkway — Saint Mary’s ninth clinic in Reno/Sparks — will have primary care offices for pediatrics and adult medicine and some diagnostic services such as X-rays.

Saint Mary’s will also move its Northwest Reno clinic into a larger facility with greatly expanded services. Now located on Robb Drive, the clinic will move into the building on Sharlands Avenue being vacated by Scolari’s, which will close June 12.

The building is three times the size of the current clinic, said David DeValk, vice president of Saint Mary’s Medical Group.

The group applied for permits last week and expect to start work on the building as soon as Scolari’s moves out. The expanded clinic is expected to open in November.

The existing clinic on Robb Drive, which has urgent care and private practice services, will remain open until then.

DeValk explained that the lease was up at the current clinic and the medical group was faced with either expanding at the existing site or doing something different.

The current clinic presented logistical challenges, he said. Any expansion would involve a separate building and going between the two in icy winter conditions would be difficult.

“We couldn’t figure out logistics; how to get bigger at the existing location,” he said.

The availability of the Scolari’s building presented better options.

The goal is to provide northwest Reno residents a center that can handle the majority of their medical needs without having to drive downtown, he said.

In addition to urgent care and medical offices, the Sharlands Avenue clinic will offer expanded hours, imaging, additional space for doctors’ offices including surgeons, ob/gyns, pediatrics, dermatology.

“All new services that have not been there before,” DeValk said.

The center will utilize a centralized scheduling system so patients can easily make multiple appointments and follow-up with their provider in a timely fashion.

The clinic will also offer the Saint Mary’s Senior Wellness Center, a program to identify long-term care options for those with chronic conditions.

The Robb Drive clinic will remain open until the Sharlands Avenue center is ready to open, with the move taking place over one weekend.

Saint Mary’s will close the old clinic on Friday and open the new clinic on Monday, DeValk said.

Saint Mary’s is also expanding services in South Reno.

A new family and integrative medicine clinic, located at 10415 Double R Blvd., will be led by Katania Taylor, doctor of Oriental Medicine.

The clinic focuses on acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, auricular therapy (ear acupuncture), trigger-point therapy, Chinese herbs, and nutrition to treat a variety of conditions. These include pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, allergies, gynecological issues, digestive problems, migraine/tension headaches, arthritis, nerve disorders, auto-immune issues, injuries, recovery from surgery, immune insufficiency, and chronic or recurrent illness.

Dr. Taylor graduated with her Master’s of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in 2003 from Bastyr University in Seattle and worked for four years under top pain specialists in Seattle. She studied at Swedish Medical Pain Center, where acupuncture was integrated with the use of cutting-edge Western pain treatments.

Taylor has been a licensed Oriental Medical Doctor in the State of Nevada since 2008.

In other recent news from Saint Mary’s Medical Group:

Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center has been designated a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The designation is a voluntary program that recognizes facilities that have committed to practice safe and effective diagnostic care for individuals at the highest risk for lung cancer.

To receive this designation, facilities must be accredited by the ACR after undergoing a rigorous assessment of its lung cancer screening protocol and infrastructure.

Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center Laboratory has been awarded accreditation by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) based on results of a recent on-site inspection.

The federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government’s own inspection program. CAP is the world’s largest association composed exclusively of board-certified pathologists and is the world leader in laboratory quality assurance.

CAP inspectors examine the laboratory’s records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and overall management.

Saint Mary’s was founded as Sisters Hospital in 1908 by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael and was renamed Saint Mary’s Hospital in 1912.

Prime Healthcare Services purchased the hospital in 2012 from Dignity Health, with the approval of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, the sponsoring congregation of the hospital.

Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare operates 34 acute care hospitals in 10 states.