Saco urgent-care clinic set to open, reflecting industry growth

Courtesy / ConvenientMD ConvenientMD will soon open an urgent-care clinic at 506 Main St., Saco. A opening reception is planned for Wednesday, Dec. 18, from 4-6:30 p.m.

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By William Hall

One year after the city of Saco began considering a proposal by ConvenientMD Urgent Care to build a walk-in health center at 506 Main St., the clinic will open Dec. 18.

The 5,000-square-foot facility, on the former site of Rosa Linda’s Family Restaurant, will offer many common health care services without the need for an appointment, according to a news release. The clinic will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and health insurance will be accepted but not required.

Like more than 20 other clinics operated by ConvenientMD in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the Saco one will be staffed by an experienced medical team, the release said. The clinic will also have in-house capabilities to perform X-ray imaging, laboratory tests, heart monitoring and IV administration.

"We're excited to be bringing ConvenientMD to Saco," said Max Puyanic, CEO of ConvenientMD, in the release. "Our clinics in Maine and throughout New England have been extremely well-embraced by the communities we serve, and we plan to deliver the same quality of service and treatment to Saco-area residents in December."

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 a Brunswick health center earlier this year.

In December, ConvenientMD is on a tear. Last week, it opened two clinics in New Hampshire, bringing the total there to 11. A clinic in Framingham, Mass., is scheduled to open Dec. 16, two days before the Saco site.

That growth reflects a nationwide trend. In June, there were roughly 9,300 of the walk-in, freestanding clinics across the U.S., up from 8,800 in 2018, according to the Urgent Care Association, an industry group.

The number has grown 45% in the past five years, driven by consumer demand for low-cost, easily accessible care and a shortage of primary care physicians, the association said in a recent report.

In Maine, the group counted 45 urgent-care clinics. In addition to ConvenientMD, which is privately held, hospitals are now getting into the business. Central Maine Healthcare, the parent company of Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, plans to open an urgent-care site there in February. CMH launched its first clinic in Topsham last year.

Over the past decade, the association noted, the share of U.S. urgent-care sites owned by hospitals increased from 25% to 37%, while those owned by physicians declined from 54% to 40%. Insurers and private investors own many of the other clinics.

“Many multi-site urgent care centers have taken on private equity partners to fuel ongoing growth,” the UCA said.