Have you ever been to a doctor’s office that smelled like a coffee shop and looked like it might actually be a spa rather than a one-stop clinic for everything from pediatrics to cardiology?
Well, Gwen and I hadn’t either until we got a tour of the new Mercy clinic in Bella Vista, which opened in December. Even the bathrooms are gorgeous. This new “destination” clinic is over by Cooper Elementary and it’s stunning, with natural light filtering in from all angles to make the atmosphere open and inviting.
The new Mercy clinic handles all aspects of care, including: pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, cardiology, audiology, urology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, x-rays, lab work and rheumatology. It’s an all-in-one clinic, so the experience can be comprehensive with no gaps. We moms tend to be the ones to make the appointments for everyone in the family, so a set-up like this makes our life easier.
We think it’s great that Mercy is part of a growing national trend of being more patient-centered — and moving away from individual offices. Convenience is so important to mamas.
Click here to read part 1 of our tour, which shares info about the physician side of the building.
In this post, let’s pick the tour up at pediatrics. When we were there, a Mercy employee was showing an elementary-aged boy how to use the cool sand table that’s in the pediatrics area to keep kids busy while waiting.
On the right side of the building are the imaging and lab facilities. Cardiology, endocrinology, urology and audiology and x-ray services are housed together.
When you walk into the audiology area, one of the first things you see is a sound booth where hearing tests are performed. It looks like one of those sound-proof “isolation booths” they used on Miss America back in the day. Hearing aids are also serviced there, which is so convenient, isn’t it?
Next up, we visited cardiology. We ran into Dr. Larry Weathers while touring the cardiology area. He’s a heart doctor who knows his stuff. After peppering him with questions about what’s new in the world of heart medicine, we met a Mercy urologist who had us laughing out loud.
The new clinic also has a community room which has a built-in screen and projector and will be available for the community to use as well as a place for Mercy programs for the public. This is the only Mercy facility in the area that offers such a space available to the public.
On the way out of the clinic, we stopped by Cornerstone Pharmacy, which also has a cute little gift shop. Oh and did we mention that the pharmacy has a drive-through?
You know what’s especially great? Many of these great features of the Mercy brand are already in place at their other clinics, but this new clinic will help them test out some of these other special touches can be refined by feedback from patients and health care providers. Then they can be implemented over time everywhere Mercy serves. From what we saw, they get an A+ and should duplicate this everywhere!
Click here to read more about the new Mercy clinic in Bella Vista!
