In an effort to address community needs for health care, Kaweah Delta has announced the development of a new multi-specialty care center in Tulare.

The nearly 10,000-square foot clinic will be located in the former IRS building at the corner of Prosperity Avenue and Mooney Boulevard, and will be an expansion of Kaweah Delta’s existing partnership with the physicians of Visalia Medical Clinic to bring primary care, walk-in and specialty physician services to the people of Tulare.

This will be the second such clinic in Tulare to come from this partnership — the first being a primary care and cardiology office at 938 N. Cherry St. opened three years ago.

“While this clinic will increase access to primary care and specialty physicians, we also believe it will be effective in helping to reduce overcrowding in our emergency department,” said CEO Gary Herbst. “Often people visit the emergency department for care that could have been provided in a physician’s office. By offering extended hours and walk-in services, we hope to curb some of those visits.”

The new Tulare clinic will accept patients with commercial insurance, Medicare, and Medi-Cal coverage. Providers will use Kaweah Delta’s Cerner electronic records, in which information entered into the patient record at the clinic will also be available to physicians in the hospital.

Kaweah Delta expects to begin seeing patients next spring at the new clinic. They will be hiring new staff for the site.