Three months after the clinic reopened at Sunrise Ridge, Neighborcare Health officials say a temporary provider has been hired and interviews are underway for an additional permanent provider to help address the demand for services.

“We want to continue to listen to feedback and meet some of the challenges,” said Neighborcare’s Director of Communications Mary Schilder. “We are really working to come up with solutions to make sure people do have access and make sure things run smoothly.”

Since the clinic opened in late September, more than 2,000 patients have registered there, Schilder said. Currently, however, the clinic is seeing a second wave of people requesting prescription refills, but who have not yet come into the clinic to become established patients. Regardless of where patients previously received care — the Franciscan clinic, Fulton Family Medicine or a different provider — before Neighborcare can authorize refills, the patient must be seen for an initial visit at the clinic, Schilder said.

Dr. Jessica Wesch, the clinic’s medical director, called this period “the second wave of the health care crisis.” To help address the demand for care, she said Neighborcare has hired Dr. Brad Roter, who lives on the island, to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January. His focus is helping people become established as patients and obtain refills. Schilder said a nurse practitioner may also be available to come in at other times during the month to address the same needs, as well as help children get caught up with immunizations needed for school.

Wesch noted temporary providers can help with any refills, except for patients seeking medications for chronic pain, who must see their primary care doctor.

Neighborcare officials also hope to bring a provider on to help serve patients who walk in and others seeking same-day appointments. Schilder noted that currently the clinic provides 15 to 20 same-day appointments, but can get up to 30 requests a day for them.

“We are busy,” Wesch said. “We are seeing patients, (including those) who sought care off-island, and we are getting good feedback from patients they are feeling welcomed … and feeling good about the staff.”

Neighborcare is also working to hire an additional patient services representative to help with front desk tasks and a medical clerk to assist health care teams with administrative and clerical tasks and documentation of patient care. It also recently hired Stephanie Keller as the clinic administrator to coordinate and oversee daily operations.

“Three months in, and we are growing,” Wesch said.

Finally, a new digital X-ray machine is on its way, and should be ready to be installed by the end of the month, Schilder said.

She added that the clinic is still new and reiterated that it had been established in a much shorter time frame than is typical.

“This has been everybody learning new processes and systems, teams getting to know each other while welcoming new patients. We just continue to thank everyone for their patience,” she said.