LAKEPORT, Calif. – Your drive to the doctor is about to get easier.

After a year of planning and remodeling, Sutter Lakeside Hospital is slated to open the Sutter Lakeside Medical Practice on Dec. 18 in the Creekside Medical Plaza off of Highway 29.

The medical practice will include primary care, diabetes education, and podiatry services, all under the same roof, at 987 Parallel Drive, Suite C, Lakeport.

“This new location is very family-friendly and will allow us to serve our community better” said Leeann Hadgis, director of Sutter Lakeside Ambulatory Clinics.

In addition to the in-town convenience, the new 6,500 square foot medical practice is 2,000 square feet bigger than the Sutter Lakeside Family Medicine Clinic (5176 Hill Road East), which it replaces.

Features of the new space include a private consultation room where a diabetes educator can meet with patients and an on-site phlebotomist who can draw a patient’s blood for diagnostic tests right after an appointment.

“We are especially proud of the modern and relaxing atmosphere that Boulder Associates brought to the space and the photography by local artists that we were able to feature.” said Hadgis.

Dan Peterson, Sutter Lakeside Hospital chief administrative officer, said he views the new care center as an investment in prevention.

“Patients who don’t have access to primary care rely on the emergency room instead,” he said. “Comprehensive care from a doctor who knows you – that is the key to staying healthy.”

The Sutter Lakeside Medical Practice will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and appointments are required; call 707-262-5088 to join the new patient waiting list.

The Sutter Lakeside Medical Practice includes the following health professionals: Elyse Donald, MD – internal medicine (medical director), Jeannette Frei, MD - family medicine, Alarise Clay - physician assistant, Kristen Herring – family nurse practitioner, Michael Mietz - physician assistant, Matthew McQuaid – doctor of podiatric medicine.

Sutter operates two care centers in Lakeport: Sutter Lakeside Community Clinic at 5196 Hill Road East, Suite 300 and Sutter Lakeside Medical Practice at 987 Parallel Drive, Suite C, Lakeport. Together these clinics provide primary care to 10,000 patients a year and allow many more patients to see specialists by appointment. Sutter Lakeside Hospital and clinics are a part of Sutter Health’s integrated, not-for-profit network.

Teams from across Sutter proudly support the more than 3 million people in their care – nearly 1 percent of the U.S. population, in one of the most diverse and innovative regions in the world: Northern California.