Griffin Health is expanding its footprint in the lower Naugatuck Valley with a new 13,000-square-foot primary care office in Shelton.
Griffin Faculty Physicians’ new Family Health Center is at 110 Commerce Drive. The space is in a plaza which also features a Starbucks, Hunan Pan, Robeks Juice and Spotted Horse Tavern.
Hospital and Valley area officials celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, open house and tours on Tuesday afternoon. The facility will open for patients on Monday, April 29.
Christian Meagher, communications specialist for Griffin, said the facility features 24 exam rooms designed to facilitate personal interaction between patients and health-care providers. The idea is that improved consultations will mean better preventative health care.
“The exam rooms are not typical — they are spacious and have a section for a meeting,” Meagher said. “The design is to promote more communication.”
According to Meagher, patients sometimes forget key questions they want to ask when they are dressed in a gown on an examining table.
“We wanted to set aside a time and space for questions,” he said.
There are televisions where patients can watch educational videos, on topics such as diabetes and diet.
Nine health-care providers will work at the Shelton facility, which has a “relaxing, spa-like design,” according to hospital officials. These include six family medicine physicians, two physician assistants and one advanced practice registered nurse.
The new location also features a patient resource center and on-site X-ray and laboratory services. Providers will offer integrated care, diabetes education, behavioral health support, and elderly assessments.
While the full-time providers at the new Shelton facility are all general practitioners, Griffin officials expect patients to be able to visit with gastroenterology, endocrine and cardiology specialists who will be on site when needed.
“This is so patients can meet the specialist right after meeting their regular physician, so it is one less stop for the patients,” Meagher said.
Patients will have the convenience of online scheduling and check-ins, and extended office hours, including weekend availability.
Griffin Health, which is based in Derby, is also planning to open new medical office space at Quarry Walk in Oxford in June.
William Purcell, president of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, said he will be using the new Shelton facility for his own primary care.
“I drive by and have been watching the construction unfold,” Purcell said. “It is exciting, and I know it will be a state-of-the-art facility.”
Adam Dworkin, executive director of Griffin Faculty Physicians, said in an announcement that this new primary care office, along with the one opening at Quarry Walk in Oxford in June, will serve as flagships for Griffin’s health initiatives.
“The innovative design of this office will enable us to provide better care for our community with a focus on preventative health and chronic disease management,” he said. “All of this is aimed at keeping people healthy and out of the hospital.”
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com
