Tampa General Hospital is preparing to open two clinics in South County, one in Riverview and one in Sun City Center. PENNY FLETCHER PHOTO
Soon there will be a third option for seeing a doctor in the Riverview area.
Instead of having to make an advance appointment at a private doctor’s office, or use a walk-in clinic, Aug. 19, the new Riverview Tampa General Hospital clinic should be open and making same-day appointments.
“The idea is to see people on the day they need to be seen, and yet let them keep the same doctor,” said Jana Gardner, vice president of ambulatory services for Tampa General Hospital. Some doctor’s offices are so busy it is impossible for people to get in when they are sick, so using walk-in clinics has become a new way to stay out of emergency rooms at hospitals, but patients cannot call the doctors there “their personal physician.”
The Riverview office will be at 10647 Big Bend Road in the plaza on the southwest side of the Big Bend and US 301 intersection, near Sweetbay.
That office telephone number is (813) 844-4600 and is currently taking appointments for Aug. 19 and beyond.
The Riverview office will be manned by two doctors. One, Dr. Prema Ramsahai, is moving to this area from out-of-state but has not yet arrived. The second physician has not yet been chosen. Staff is also being hired for that office.
The Riverview office will see patients from birth through geriatrics.
Meanwhile, an office is also slated for Sun City Center. It is on schedule to open late this year. It will be in the Center Plaza Building, the tan building at the west end of Sun City Center Plaza by the post office.
The TGH clinics will both be full service, giving flu shots and regular routine exams as well as seeing sick patients.
There will be one doctor who will man the Sun City Center clinic regularly who will specialize in adult care. This doctor has not yet been chosen. That office, which should open sometime before the end of the year, will not be equipped for pediatrics.
The address of the Sun City Center office is 1647 Sun City Center Plaza, and the telephone number is (813) 844-4700. There is hiring still to be done there as well.
Both offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to start. They will not take walk-ins, but if you call, they give same day appointments when patients say they need them, Gardner said.
For employment opportunities, it is advised that applicants go to the Tampa General Hospital website http://www.tgh.org/searchjobs.htm under the “About Us” tab on the left at the top of the opening page, where there is a sub-tab that says “Career Opportunities” and under that “Apply.”
