Walk-In Clinic Closing

Posted on 1/12/2017 11:24 AM by Pete McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM
One of Vernon's walk in clinics will be closing it's doors. The Gartree Clinic in the Vernon Square Mall will shut down as of March 24th, as we confirmed with office manager Nancy Spiers. "That will be the last patient day, and then for our lease, we have to be out of here on the 31st," Spiers told Kiss FM. Spiers says the clinic is down to one doctor, William Fehr, and he can't do it all by himself. The facility has been open at that site since the mall opened in 1991, and went to reduced hours a year ago when they went down to two doctors. It will leave Vernon with two walk in clinics: one in the Superstore and the other in the Sterling Centre.A walk-in clinic in the Fruit Union Plaza shut down last March, which operators said was due to a lack of doctors.
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Vernon medical clinic closes doors
by Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Vernon posted Jan 12, 2017 at 10:00 AM— updated Jan 12, 2017 at 11:48 AM

Vernon's original walk-in clinic is closing down. March 24 will be the last day for patients at the Gartree Medical Clinic in the Vernon Square mall. "We have only one doctor at this time and other doctors are not available," said Nancy Spiers, office manager. Gartree opened its doors in the early 1990s, but has experienced some challenges in recent years, including reducing hours in January 2016 because only two physicians were available for shifts. Patients are being advised of the pending closure as they arrive at the clinic and advertisements will be run in the newspaper. Patients will have the opporunity to get a copy of their medical files, while Med Records will provide storage of medical files once the office closes. Three employees will lose their jobs at Gartree. Gartree's closure will leave only two walk-in clinics in Vernon — North Okanagan Medical Clinic at Real Canadian Superstore and the Sterling Centre Clinic on 25th Avenue.
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One less walk-in clinic in Vernon as Gartree announces closure
By Charlotte Helston INFONEWS January 12, 2017 - 11:14 AM
VERNON - Another walk-in clinic is closing its doors in Vernon. The Gartree Medical Clinic at the Vernon Square Mall will take its last patients on March 24. It is almost one year to the day that the Vernon Family Doctors Walk-In Clinic closed in March 2016. Gartree’s office manager Nancy Spiers says they are down to just one physician, who simply cannot run the clinic on his own. “There was really no choice,” Spiers says. The clinic requires three doctors to run the clinic full time. Last January, the clinic was forced to shorten to half days as a result of only having two physicians. Now, one of them is away for personal reasons, leaving just one doctor. “He can’t do it on his own,” Spiers says. The clinic has operated in its current location since 1991, and before that it was located in the Fruit Union Plaza. Spiers says the decision to close was “very, very difficult.” “It’s tough, the community needs it,” she says. “There are lineups here every day.” Patients can get a copy of their medical records for a fee, and Med Records will store the files after the office closes. You can contact the clinic directly at 250-545-9112 for more information. There are two other medical clinics in Vernon: the North Okanagan Medical Clinic at the Real Canadian Superstore, and the Sterling Centre Clinic, which opened after the Vernon Family Doctors Clinic announced it was closing.