CoxHealth readies for clinic opening at Sunshine, National

CoxHealth officials say its new clinic and urgent care is ready to open April 17 at the southwest corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue.

Called the Hamra Center, the 32,000-square-foot facility will house the CoxHealth Advantage Care clinic and urgent care meant to improve access for patients of all ages in central Springfield, according to a news release from the hospital system. The clinic will offer primary multidisciplinary care and basic lab and X-ray services on-site, according to Brock Shamel, senior vice president of Cox Medical Group.

“This is particularly significant when you’re considering the senior population, where this convenience could lead to better outcomes and hopefully keep those patients out of the hospital,” he said in the release.

Shamel noted the primary care provided to the aging population will help to ensure they are directed to the right care setting.

“This will help us work better with this patient population and educate them on preventative care to keep them healthier for longer,” he added in the release.

The site’s urgent care facility will be open every day for 12 hours.

The hospital system purchased the 2-acre property, formerly the gated white home of Marsh Travel, in August 2021. It sits across Sunshine from a corner where a pitched battle is underway to determine a possible commercial future for a portion of the all-residential University Heights neighborhood. Across National Avenue is the 76-acre site of Mercy Hospital Springfield.

The clinic was designed by H Design Group LLC and BSA LifeStructures Inc. of Overland Park, Kansas. General contractor was KCI Construction Co., with engineers CJW Transportation Consultants LLC, civil; Bob D. Campbell and Co. (Kansas City), structural; and Imeg Corp. (Kansas City), mechanical, electrical and plumbing, and frankZdesign LLC was the landscape architect.

Rod Schaffer, vice president of facilities for CoxHealth, told Springfield City Council in August 2021 that the system had been scouting a location on Sunshine for years when then-property owner Joni Marsh approached them with an interest in selling.

CoxHealth President Max Buetow told SBJ the location at the gateway to the Medical Mile enhances visibility for the system.