ConvenientMD continues Maine expansion with opening of Ellsworth clinic

Courtesy / ConvenientMD ConvenientMD will open a new walk-in medical clinic, shown here, at 235 High St., Ellsworth.

Write a Comment

By William Hall

ConvenientMD, which operates five walk-in medical clinics across Maine, will soon add a sixth in Ellsworth.

The clinic will open Jan. 7, at 235 High St., a previously vacant property that had housed a bank branch. The clinic will provide urgent care services seven days a week, according to a news release Tuesday.

Like other ConvenientMD clinics, the Ellsworth site will provide a range of basic medical care, including treatment for common illnesses and injuries, COVID-19 testing, employer health services, physical exams and preventive health services. The clinic also will perform X-rays, laboratory testing and minor surgical procedures.

Appointments are not necessary, and most insurance plans are accepted, but not required to receive care.

ConvenientMD, based in Portsmouth, N.H., entered Maine in 2017 with clinics in Portland and Westbrook. The company added a Bangor branch in 2018 and opened ones in Brunswick and Saco last year.

The privately held company currently has a total of two dozen clinics in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The pandemic appears to be fueling demand for urgent care services, industry experts have said. One example: In July, ConvenientMD entered an agreement with the University of Maine System and Bar Harbor-based Jackson Laboratory to provide COVID-19 testing at the seven UMS universities and the University of Maine School of Law.

But even before the spread of COVID-19, the clinics were growing in popularity. In 2019, over 9,600 of them provided care in the U.S., up from 6,100 in 2013, according to the Urgent Care Association, an industry group.

The growth has been driven by consumers seeking for low-cost, easily accessible care and by a shortage of primary care physicians, the association said in a recent report.

Dr. Mark Pundt, ConvenientMD president and chief medical officer, said in the release, “We are thrilled to open our doors to the Ellsworth community.

"We've built an exceptional team of physicians, providers, nurses, radiologic technologists and other medical professionals with combined decades of experience in urgent care, emergency room, and primary care settings who look forward to delivering the best medical care and experience for patients in Ellsworth."