Kaweah Health Opens New Akers Clinic

Kaweah Health’s newest outpatient clinic will open Thursday, April 23, at the Tulare/Akers Professional Building on the corner of Akers Street and Tulare Avenue. Known as the Kaweah Health Medical Clinic Akers, the new clinic offers pediatric and primary care.

The clinic will serve patients in the area while also helping recruit new physicians. Kaweah Health CEO Marc Mertz explained that one challenge with recruiting more physicians to the area is the lack of contemporary clinic space. 

“The type of clinic we were looking for didn’t exist, so we decided to build it ourselves,” Mertz said at a recent ribbon cutting. “We chose to partner with Tulare County to remodel a portion of this beautiful, well-maintained building.”

Once offices for The Cigna Group, the Tulare/Akers Professional Building is now home to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Tulare County Elections Office, and the IRS. Kaweah Health is leasing space from the county for the clinic. 

“This is our building, and we are very happy to have Kaweah Health here,” Tulare County Supervisor Amy Shuklian said. “Anything the county can do to expand healthcare here is a good thing.”

Not all the space Kaweah Health leased has been remodeled.

“As excited as we are about this clinic, we are thinking about what else we can do here,” Mertz said. “There is additional space for two specialty clinics already in design.”

He added that lab services and imaging may also be added, making the building a one-stop shop for patients.

Currently, the new clinic has 20 exam rooms, a procedure room, and a room for mental health appointments. Pediatricians Dr. Ester Flores Midence and Dr. Kirk Coverston and family practice physician Dr. Gaylene Soloniuk-Tays will be moving from their Ben Maddox locations, along with nurse practitioners Andrew Kim and Spencer Packer.

Kaweah Health Medical Clinic Akers is located at 5300 W. Tulare Ave., Suite 100. Call 559-839-2200 to make an appointment or for more information.

Kaweah Health’s Ben Maddox Clinic stopped seeing patients at noon on Wednesday to transition to the new Akers Clinic. Plans for how the Ben Maddox location can help expand care in the community are currently underway.