New Tampa: Clinic, surgery center operate under one roof
Florida Medical Clinic, which offers medical services for 10 disciplines, celebrates its Tampa Palms location.
By RODNEY THRASH
Published January 9, 2004
TAMPA PALMS - There's a new one-stop medical clinic and surgery center on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and N 37th Street.
Florida Medical Clinic offers 10 disciplines including cardiology, urology, nephrology, orthopedic surgery, pulmonology, sleep disorders, gastroenterology, hematology and medical oncology - all under one roof.
"There are not that many multispecialty practices," said Joe Delatorre, chief executive officer of the clinic. "When multidisciplined physicians work under one roof, it provides the ultimate setting for both the patient and physician. It's kind of like one-stop shopping."
Florida Medical Clinic started in 1993 in Zephyrhills in a building that once housed a Publix and Kmart. The idea was to create one central place where patients could have most of their medical needs fulfilled. Today, there are seven locations in Zephyrhills, one each in Dade City, New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, and plans to expand in east and central Pasco County and New Tampa.
Managers will promote the clinic, which opened for business in September, at a gala event this evening at 7 p.m.
Among its features is the capability to record a patient's medical history digitally. Gone are the days when the doctor's office was cluttered wall-to-wall with manila file folders containing old paperwork. When a patient visits the clinic, any paperwork is scanned into a computer database that physicians at all 10 clinics can see.
Dr. W. Hunter Eubanks, a gastroenterologist, left a successful practice to join the clinic's staff.
"It doesn't allow you to practice medicine and do what you need to do when you're hiring and firing," he said. "You're spending too much time with administrative headaches rather than taking care of patients."
At Florida Medical Clinic, doctors retain some autonomy but delegate the day-to day business operations to a management team.
"They can focus on what they do best: taking care of patients," Delatorre said.
