Neighborcare Health’s island clinic will be open again on Saturdays beginning Feb. 1, the Seattle-based nonprofit announced this past week.

Mary Schilder, director of marketing communications for Neighborcare, informed The Beachcomber of those developments, saying the clinic would be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for walk-in appointments. She cautioned there could be some exceptions as to which Saturdays the facility would be open going forward, “as the newest provider gets up to speed.”

“We will post any closures on our website neighborcare.org and on our Facebook page @Neighborcare,” Schilder wrote in an email. “We want to thank everyone for their understanding as we have been hiring, welcoming and training our new providers.”

The clinic, located at Sunrise Ridge, had been closed Saturdays since Sept. 28 of last year to help train new nurse practitioners and physician assistants, who will help reduce the amount of time for patients to wait to schedule appointments.

In addition to the latest news of the Vashon clinic opening on Saturdays, Schilder said all of Neighborcare Health clinics and school-based health centers, including one on the island, will be closed on Monday, Feb. 3, for training personnel on the new electronic health records system.

“We are making this change to our health records system in order to support our staff in providing the best care and experience for our patients possible,” Schilder wrote. “We appreciate the community’s patience as our teams learn the new system.”