LRGHealthcare to end walk-in care at Laconia Clinic

LACONIA — Walk-in medical care will no longer be offered by LRGHealthcare in the Laconia Clinic after mid-July, company CEO Kevin Donovan said in a memo to employees.

Donovan said efforts were being made to place employees affected by the change in other positions within the company.

He said the planned closure of the walk-in service at the 724 N. Main St. clinic is related to new state requirements.

“We have recently been in talks with the Department of Health & Human Services regarding new State building code requirements for non emergency walk-in clinics and the potential impact on Convenience Care at the Laconia Clinic,” he wrote in the memo.

“As a result of regulatory changes and revised air handling standards, we will need to close Convenience Care at the Laconia Clinic sometime in early- to mid-July 2019. A final date will be determined in the coming month.”

He also said the company was in discussions with ClearChoiceMD Urgent Care “regarding partnership to ensure continuity of urgent care for our patients.

“This model will maintain the same high-quality, convenient care, supported by LRGHealthcare’s emergency and specialty providers. This is not an uncommon strategy and has been recently used by other organizations including Catholic Medical Center in Manchester. As that relationship develops, we will keep you informed.”

LRGHealthcare Vice President Cass Walker said ClearChoiceMD Urgent Care will not offer walk-in services at Laconia Clinic.

ClearChoice has a walk-in center in Belmont at the Belknap Mall. That center is open 12 hours a day.