Urgent care clinic opening in south Augusta

More urgent care options are coming to south Augusta.

Local emergency care provider MedNow has filed plans to construct a 4,600-square-foot clinic early next year at 3044 Peach Orchard Road, a ¾-acre parcel previously occupied by Emilio's Italian Eatery.

It will join two other urgent care facilities that have opened in the area during the past two years: the PerfectHealth/AU Health Urgent Care clinic at 3324 Peach Orchard Road and the University Health Prompt Care and Primary Care center at 3486 Peach Orchard Road.

The new MedNow would be the company's seventh metro-area location – eighth if it keeps the small storefront operation it has in the Barney's Pharmacy-anchored strip center at 2604 Peach Orchard Road. (It doesn’t seem likely MedNow would keep the smaller clinic open when it has a bigger, brand new one just a mile down the road.)

The new clinic will follow the footprint of the existing Emilio’s building and will have parking for 24 cars, according to engineering plans.

Something in the plans that are a little out of the ordinary: rain barrels. Schematics show the building will have a system to catch and store water runoff from the roof in barrels, which would then be used to irrigate the surrounding landscaping.

Hopefully, design elements such as water-catchment systems and semi-permeable pavement will become more common in local developments. It’s not only more eco-friendly, it keeps us from having to have all those unsightly and weed-infested stormwater runoff retention ponds everywhere.

SPEAKING OF HEALTH CARE: The area's largest private pediatric practice has opened a care center designed specifically for parents struggling during the first few weeks with their newborn.

Pediatric Partners of Augusta's new “Bella Bambino Newborn Care Center” will have lactation consultants and medical professionals to see the mother and newborn together as a breastfeeding or formula-feeding pair.

“So many times, moms come to see me when the problems have already gotten bad. If I could’ve seen them right after discharge, it would’ve made things much easier on them,” said Sally Wood, a board-certified lactation consultant at Bella Bambino.

The center is on the second floor of Pediatric Partners' office in Evans at 411 Town Park Blvd.

Dr. Karen Foushee, a founding partner of Pediatric Partners, said she often hears from new mothers 24 to 36 hours after delivery. Mothers and newborns do not have to be patients of Pediatric Partners to visit the care center.

Visits include an assessment and detailed care plan that will be send to the mother's obstetrician and the newborn's pediatrician.

IN-N-OUT DENTAL: National "dental service organizations" continue to proliferate in the metro Augusta area. The latest DSO location will be the fourth Heartland Dental-affiliated practice, which is currently building out a storefront in the Mullins Colony shopping center in Evans. The practice will join three other Heartland practices in South Aiken, Grovetown and the Riverwood section of Evans.

The nation’ sother well-known DSO, Aspen Dental, has three area practices: Aiken, Augusta and Evans.

A 2017 report by a global investment banking firm predicts DSOs will grow 15% annually in the next five years and own 30% of the dental market by 2021.

This raises some questions: Is dentistry becoming more like optometry, where the predominate practice option is to be employed by a large chain? Does this mean Aspen is the new Pearl Vision and Heartland is the new LensCrafters?

The next few years will be interesting.

SAVE EARLY, SAVE OFTEN: Congratulations to one-year-old Skye Robinson of Augusta, who was awarded $1,529 as the Eastern winner of the state's Path2College Sweepstakes.

Robinson’s grandmother, Lesia Johnson, entered her in the sweepstakes designed to raise awareness of the state's college savings plan.

“I entered to help with my first grandchild’s college fund," she said. "I know it will be a great start and help for my son and his family.”

I've extolling the virtues of 529 plans many times in this column, but they bear repeating. If there is a child in your life, and there is a chance you are going to be paying for that child’s higher education, open a 529 plan today. Like, right now.

Both Georgia and South Carolina offer the plans, which give you tax-free earnings and tax-free withdrawals on qualified education expenses. And you can contribute as little as $25 a month.

You can always change the beneficiary – you know, in case your child turns out to be a slacker – and you can even use the money for K-12 tuition expenses at private schools.

Learn more about the Georgia plan at www.Path2College529.com.

DIGITAL CITY: Has the technology of the Augusta city government made your life better? The Center for Digital Government seems to think so.

The California-based center has ranked Augusta a Top 10 mid-sized city in its annual 2019 Digital Cities Survey. Augusta's IT department was No. 9 in the mid-sized city category for municipalities with populations between 125,000 to 249,999.

Augusta was behind Fort Collins, Colo., but ahead of Roseville, Calif. The city of Norfolk, Va., was the No. 1 mid-sized city.

The annual survey recognizes cities "using technology to improve citizen services, enhance transparency and encourage citizen engagement."

This is the sixth time Augusta is the only Georgia municipality to be recognized in this category.

“The Information Technology Department looks forward to continuing our partnership with other city agencies to improve Augusta’s services through technology,” said Tameka Allen, director of Information Technology.

FOUND ON ROAD DAILY: The Ford F-150 pickup has been America's best-selling automobile for years, so it makes sense it would be the best-selling new car in metro Augusta. But did you know it's also the area’s best selling used car?

It's true, according to a new ISeeCars.com survey of 26 million vehicle sales across the country. The Ford pickup tops the best-selling used car list in metro Augusta, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (which also is the No. 2 selling new car in town), the GMC Sierra 1500, the Kia Forte and the Kia Sorento.

For new cars in Augusta, the top sellers are the Nissan Altima sedan, Dodge Ram 1500 pickups and the GMC Sierra 1500, following the aforementioned F-150 and Silverado 1500.

I'm not surprised about the Sorento; they're pretty nice mid-sized SUVs. I came close to buying one this year to replace my beloved Ford Explorer, which met an untimely demise on a North Carolina highway.

Instead of the Kia, I opted for a pre-owned Subaru, a brand that is not a top-seller in any American city except one: Portland, Ore.

I recently received my first copy of “Drive,” the official magazine for Subaru owners. It had a very Portland vibe to it.

CARS TO BOATS: Congratulations to Lincolnton Marine for being named one of the top 100 dealers in North America by trade publication Boating Industry.

Lincolnton Marine, established in 1975, is Lake Thurmond/Clark Hill’s oldest and largest marine dealership.

“Out of the thousands of boat dealers in North America, only the very best make the Top 100 list,” said Jonathan Sweet, director of the Boating Industry Top 100 Program. “These companies are the elite of the marine industry, excelling at all aspects of their business, from customer service to industry advocacy to overall business acumen.”

The top 100 list was announced at a black-tie gala in Orlando, Fla., last month.

“I am very thankful for my staff and all the Lincolnton Marine customers," Lincolnton Marine owner Jeremy Dawkins said. "Without both, this honor would not be possible.”

Reach Damon Cline at (706) 823-3352 or dcline@augustachronicle.com.