Going to the doctor used to be a hassle for Judith Gonsalves and her husband, Alexander, of Whitman. They hope it will now be more like one- stop shopping.
"Before, I'd go to Abington for my primary care doctor, get my X-rays in Brockton or Whitman, my mammogram in Abington and go back to Brockton to see other specialists," she said. "It was the same for my husband."
Last weekOn Tuesday, Gonsalves had her first appointment at her primary care doctor's new offices at Compass Medical, which recently moved to the new Southeast Medical Center in East Bridgewater, just over the Whitman town line, in late July. Once she made it through the temporary road work and detour at the entrance, things moved smoothly. Southeast Medical is a brand new, 70,000- square-foot office building that is much larger and more modern than Compass Medical's former offices in Whitman. Doctors there have It has new affiliations with Boston teaching hospitals. There's plenty of parking, and Gonsalves can expect to find get most all of her care there, except for emergencies.
If Gonsalves needs her blood drawn or other testing, there's a full lab on the first floor. She had her annual mammogram there a few weeks ago -- it used updated digital scanning -- and the radiology suite also has digital X-ray services, the latest 64-slice CT scanner, an MRI machine, bone density testing, ultrasound and will soon have an MRI machine. A radiologist from Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston works there full- time, reading tests and consulting with staff.
In Whitman, Compass had nearly 16,000 square feet. Compass now leases 43,000 square feet in the East Bridgewater medical center. The extra room has accommodated job growth: Compass has expanded its work force from 90 people in Whitman to 125 in East Bridgewater.
If either of the Gonsalves or her husband need a cardiologist or several other types of special care, those services are on site too. Many specialized doctors at the facility -- including the new vein center -- are affiliated with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Other specialists are affiliated with the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary in Boston and Eye Health Services in Quincy. There's a new urgent care center with evening and Saturday hours and a pharmacy -- a branch of Duval's Pharmacy in Whitman -- to fill prescriptions. Orthopedic surgeons are also in the building. Gonsalves said she felt much more confident after getting her mammogram this year. "The equipment is so new -- before it was much older, and you just wondered if you were getting an accurate result," she said. "This equipment makes you feel much more confident that you are getting the right diagnosis."
Located about 30 miles south of Boston, the Southeast Medical Center is not what people might expect to find driving down Route 18 past small roadside stands and local businesses. Just a A short distance beyond the Peaceful Meadows Farm and Ice Cream Stand in Whitman, with cows in the field, the long, two- story beige-and-white building on its 100-acre site dominates the landscape.
"It's almost like a hospital -- it's huge," an elderly woman from Abington said Monday, as she left her doctor's office. "It's beautiful, but I'm old and I don't like change." That sentiment didn't surprise Dr. Jonathan Ellis of Milton, a cardiologist with Compass Medical, who was monitoring a patient's stress test -- another new on-site feature. Despite the need for older patients to adjust to change and also to be patient while some construction is completed, the overwhelming response has been very positive, said Dr. Jonathan Ellis of Milton, a cardiologist with Compass Medical. Ellis said. "We've been drawing in new patients since we opened July 30," he said. "They have heard about the convenience and the new equipment."
Some of the new devices include the 64-slice CT scanner and an MRI machine that will begin operating next month. " -- including some of the most advanced digital imaging devices, like a 64-slice CT scanner, and an MRI machine that will be in place by mid October. "I'll be able to use those right here in diagnosing patients' conditions," he said.
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