Center’s Physicians to Continue Staffing

Longtime Neighborhood Medical Resource

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 21, 2010) - Arlington Acute Care officially became Solantic Baptist Arlington Monday, April 19, as part of Solantic and Baptist Health’s joint venture to provide Northeast Florida residents access to an expanded continuum of care. This is the 32nd Solantic center statewide.

The Arlington center, located at 1021 Cesery Boulevard, was previously a Baptist Health facility. Robert Kiely, M.D. and Carlos Barberis, M.D., who have owned the practice since 1981, will staff the center along with April Turner, M.D. and Solantic personnel. Managing the center is Heather Parrish, who previously managed the Mandarin Solantic.

Dr. Kiely, who has served as Jacksonville Fire/Rescue Department Medical Director for more than 25 years and was named a 2008 Healthcare Hero by the Jacksonville Business Journal, said the decision to allow Solantic to manage the center came from knowing the company’s good business track record and his longtime friendship with Solantic CEO Karen Bowling. The two worked at Memorial Hospital in the 1980s.

“We had a decision to make, as owners of this practice, whether to carry the clinic on our own,” Dr. Kiely said. “We felt, at this point in our careers, Solantic had a good track record of being successful in providing urgent care in this market.”

Renovations to the center are scheduled to begin during the summer and are projected to cost $150,000, said Mark Reddinger, Solantic North Florida Market Leader. Center enhancements will include an expanded reception and waiting room area, a separate childrens’ room, and a new digital x-ray system, which will allow patients to receive results immediately and take a CD copy of their images with them for future medical consultations.

“It’s very exciting for us and will be for a lot of patients that have been coming to this center for years, because they will get to experience the brand new look and feel of the center,” Reddinger said. “It’s one more example of how the Solantic and Baptist joint venture is reinvesting in the community.”

The Solantic/Baptist Health joint venture, announced January 14, 2010, encompasses 11 urgent care centers in North Florida, which are jointly owned by Solantic and Baptist, but are managed and staffed by Solantic. A new co-branded Beach and Hodges center is scheduled to open in late May at 13460 Beach Boulevard.

Solantic Baptist Arlington center hours of operation are: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

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