Nearly one year after its groundbreaking, progress continues on a new Dubuque medical facility and pharmacy location.
Construction is nearly complete on the exterior of the building that will house Grand River Medical Group and a Hartig Drug pharmacy. Crew members are working on the interior.
“We wanted to make this a one-stop shop for our patients,” said Justin Hafner, CEO of Grand River Medical Group.
The three-story, 40,000-square-foot facility is located on Westmark Drive, near the intersection of Northwest Arterial and Pennsylvania Avenue.
While construction initially was anticipated to wrap up in late spring or early summer, Hafner said materials affected by supply-chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed completion to the latter half of 2022.
Chief Operations Officer Kayla Hopson said conversations about a new facility started about six years ago, when Grand River Medical Group purchased the land. Plans became more serious two years ago as officials began discussing ways to increase convenience for patients.
“From the efficiency side, the convenience and ease for patients really led us to move forward,” she said.
She said a portion of the first floor will house the group’s relocated family medicine clinic from the current site at 320 N. Grandview Ave., which will be vacated once the new facility is operational.
Another portion of the first floor will include expanded lab and radiology services so patients can have those services performed in the same building as their physician visit, Hopson said. Hafner added that additional lab employees will be hired once the new facility is complete.
“This is really a growing practice,” he said.
Administrative offices and conference rooms will partially occupy the second floor. A portion of the second floor and all of the third floor will remain empty, Hafner said.
“We’re building out more than what we need to anticipate any additions in the future or any additional partnerships,” he said.
Charlie Hartig, CEO of Hartig Drug, said the company and Grand River Medical Group have worked together for a long time, but the Westmark Drive facility will put a “physical stamp” on the partnership.
“We expect to maintain a lot of our customer base out here but are just making it more convenient for people,” Hartig said.
He said the new pharmacy will span 1,600 square feet of the first floor and include a drive-thru. He added that, in addition to typical pharmacy items, the pharmacy will stock medications based on recommendations from medical staff working with patients in the building.
Grand River Medical Group and Hartig Drug officials expressed excitement about the coming facility.
“Really, I think what we all look forward to is being in a new space and a fresh space, where we will really be able to make sure all of the focus, attention and resources are able to go to our patients,” Hopson said.