“Partnership” was the buzzword at Wednesday morning’s ribbon cutting for the UF Health Urgent Care Center — Eastside. Local officials from the city, county, state and UF Health attended to celebrate the clinic, which will open for business on Thursday.
“I haven’t been here too long, but I’ve been really inspired and humbled by the fact that such great projects as this have been set forward by the incredibly hard work by so many here, by so many behind the scenes,” said Steve Motew, president and system CEO of UF Health, who was appointed in March. “This is truly, truly an honor. I’m extraordinarily grateful.”
Motew said the clinic is a “landmark opening” based on a long-standing vision from UF and UF Health, as well as from the community.
Before designing the urgent care center, officials held four community input sessions to determine what Eastside residents wanted to see.
“You stood up, you spoke up,” said Marvin Dewar, CEO of UF Health Physicians. “Sometimes the words were hard for us to hear, but the words were important for us to hear… Now I hope what you see is that we will have incorporated many of those words in what you see in front of you today.”
Based on that vision, the 9,000-square-foot urgent care center includes eight exam rooms, two procedure rooms, an X-ray area and a community room. It is equipped to care for non-life-threatening injuries and conditions like colds, flu, cuts, burns, broken bones, breathing problems and skin infections.
Dewar said while the urgent care center will not be an “end all, be all” to Eastside’s needs, it can be a catalyst to further development and growth.
“This is a journey to a destination that, the destination is really a beginning,” Dewar said.
County Commissioner Ken Cornell said the urgent care center will improve Eastside’s access to healthcare, but that UF’s presence in the area is also a herald of economic development to come.
The project has been under discussion since 2019, according to Cornell, who said former city of Gainesville commissioner Gigi Simmons brought the topic up with him years ago.
Cornell also lauded the resilience of the community, saying that resilience has helped bring a center that benefits public health, safety and welfare.
“This community has taught this commission many things in the last couple of years. This is a perfect example, Cornell said in a speech. “But they didn’t just teach us. They’re teaching the city. They’re teaching UF Health, and kudos to UF Health, they’re actually listening and making it happen.”
Mary Alford, chairperson of the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, said the urgent care will serve all of eastern Alachua County, not just Eastern Gainesville. She said it is expected to serve 12,000-15,000 residents each year.
To help involve the community and introduce the urgent care, UF Health held an open house on Aug. 3, turning the event into a sort of festival with face painting, a backpack giveaway, food and drink, balloons and photo opportunities.
The UF Health urgent care center is part of a larger project, Eastside Health and Economic Development Initiative (EHEDI) site. Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward said the 37-acre site will become home to a transportation hub, grocery stores and other developments.
“It was hard to take that spark of hope that Commissioner Simmons lit and turn that into faith—turn that into the substance of things not seen, and turn it from faith into reality,” Ward said. “We can see this now. We can feel it. We can touch it. We can be healed by it.”