/ Modified aug 7, 2017 8:17 a.m.

Banner to Open 'Quick Care' Clinics in Supermarkets

Safeways in Tucson, Phoenix will host pilot project.

UMC Banner Medical Center, hero The exterior of Banner University Medical Center.
Stephanie Torres, AZPM

The next time you stop for groceries, you might also pick up a vaccination or even get a physical exam. That’s what Banner Health has started to offer with a new “Quick Care” clinic at a Tucson Safeway store.

Doctor Rob Rohatsch heads the program, and said it’s part of Banner’s pivot toward medicine that’s more customer-focused.

"We're trying to look at health care through the lens of the consumer versus the lens of the health care system.” Rohatsch said

The new Quick Care clinic in the Safeway at Broadway and Campbell, and two in the Phoenix area, will be staffed by nurse practitioners who can treat common colds, coughs, allergic reactions, and other medical needs that don’t require a trip to urgent care. It’s a pilot program that might expand if it succeeds.

“We want to see how this goes through a flu season, when you know the colds and coughs are sort of the most dominant complaint we get,” Rohatsch said. “If we find the consumers really appreciate what we're offering them, then we’ll scale the business across Safeways in the entire state of Arizona.”

And if a visitor needs more than Quick Care can provide, Rohatsch says the clinic is equipped to consult with a doctor electronically, or help you find a primary care physician if you don’t have one.

“We’ll be able to identify the fact that they don't have a primary care physician, address their urgent complaint that they came to see us for, but then before they leave, have a conversation with them about the need for health and wellness in their life,” he said.

The Tucson clinic, inside the Safeway at 1940 E. Broadway Blvd. in Tucson, opens on Wednesday.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona