SANFORD — Rachel Titherington has had bronchitis before, so one day last week when she felt familiar symptoms, she dropped by the new walk-in care clinic on the Southern Maine Health Care campus.

“I didn’t want it to turn into pneumonia,” she explained.

She liked what she saw, heard and experienced at the clinic, located in the Goodall Medical Office Building.

“It went really well,” she said.

Titherington was among those gathered at the entrance to the medical office building Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the walk-in clinic.

About 1,000 patients have already visited the clinic, which opened Sept. 6, said SMHC President Ed McGeachey before he and some others cut a bright orange ribbon to formally open the facility.

The clinic offers nonemergency care for a number of ailments – from bronchitis, flu and sore throats to strains and sprains; ear, eye and sinus infections; and cuts and abrasions.

It’s the fourth walk-in care facility under the SMHC umbrella; the others are in Kennebunk, Saco and Waterboro.

Opening the facility was a pledge made by SMHC a year ago when it made the decision to close inpatient beds in Sanford. Some of the other promises by the hospital included conducting more day surgery in Sanford, recruiting new primary care physicians, and increasing the availability of more specialty physicians.

As local merchants, SMHC personnel and board members, legislators and others gathered for the ribbon cutting, a parade of folks were entering the building, which also houses a number of medical offices. Some of them were there for lab tests or to see their physicians – and others were headed for the walk-in clinic.

“From a business standpoint, most of us know that we must commit to some sort of change to meet the needs of our customers and clients,” said Sanford- Springvale Chamber of Commerce President Richard Stanley. “I believe SMHC is committed to meet the Sanford region’s needs for health care services, and will continue to partner with the community to provide even more resources and services in the future.”

McGeachey said he’s hopeful and confident that will be the case.

“We love this community,” he said.

The walk-in clinic employs a staff of 10, including four physicians, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, and six other staff. Practice Manager Kelly Whiteside said there are always two providers and two registered nurses on duty.

“We’ve had so many patients saying ‘thank you,’” said family nurse practitioner Nichole Reader. “It’s definitely a needed service.”

McGeachey said on a couple of days, the Sanford clinic has seen more patients than the one in Saco, which serves both Saco and Biddeford.

“That suggests a pent-up demand,” he said.

Mayor Tom Cote said the opening of the clinic is exciting for Sanford, despite what he referred to as a “bit of a bumpy road.”

“Health care these days is rough,” said McGeachey. “It’s apparent to everybody that Sanford has borne the brunt of that more than any of us would like.”

He said SMHC continues to meet with city leaders to plan new services in Sanford.

“We will continue to make changes,” McGeachey said. “We hope they’ll be the sort we’ve made today.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.