A new pharmacist-led walk-in clinic is set to open in Sylvan Lake this week.
Located in the Ryders Ridge Shoppers Drug Mart, the clinic opens March 8 and aims to increase community access to healthcare while decreasing wait times.
“We’re excited for it. We’re very confident that it will help the community,” said Kirolos Shehata, owner of the pharmacy.
“Access to health care isn’t that simple to go and sit in the emergency room. Sometimes, you sit for several hours for something that we call a minor aliment.”
Shehata says the clinic will be able to provide a range of healthcare services to patients, including assessment and treatment of common ailments and injuries.
The clinic will also provide basic testing, such as glucose and cholesterol blood tests, allowing patients to get results within minutes instead of waiting for appointments or lab results.
The clinic comes following the success of Alberta’s first pharmacist-led clinic, which opened in Lethbridge last June. The clinic sees an average of 40 patient visits each day, according to Jeff Leger, the president of Shoppers Drug Mart.
For now, the Sylvan Lake clinic will operate with one dedicated pharmacist and one patient room; however, Shehata says they are prepared to add an additional room and pharmacist if demand picks up.