MultiCare Health System is consolidating operations temporarily at some of its Rockwood primary-care clinics in order to reduce potential exposure of staff and patients to those who have contracted COVID-19.

Kevin Maloney, Spokane-based spokesman for MultiCare Health System, says the decision to consolidate clinics was based on the need to provide health care for those who can’t participate in virtual visits online.

“A lot of people are using virtual visits for our primary-care services, but we realize that not everybody has that ability,” Maloney says.

In all, seven clinics are involved in consolidations at three separate sites. 

The Medical Lake, Northpointe, main Spokane, and Spokane Valley clinics will remain open. The Airway Heights clinic has been closed, and patients will be redirected to the Medical Lake clinic, at 725 N. Stanley. 

Patients at the Deer Park clinic will be diverted to the Northpointe clinic, at 605 E. Holland. 

The North Spokane Pediatrics clinic is also closed, and patients will be redirected to one of two locations: the main Spokane clinic, at 400 E. Fifth, or the Valley clinic, at 14408 E. Sprague.

Maloney says MultiCare chose to consolidate those primary-care clinics that are within a reasonably close distance of another MultiCare location.

“We realize that not all of these are right down the block, but we wanted to try to be sensitive to our patients’ proximity to these clinics,” Maloney says.

The consolidation is temporary, but no timetable is set yet for resuming operations at the shuddered clinics, Maloney says.

He adds that MultiCare doesn’t have plans to consolidate any additional clinics in the Spokane area.

Face-to-face visits for urgent care and health care needs unrelated to respiratory care will continue at several locations, including the Medical Lake clinic; the Northpointe Specialty Center; Spokane Internal Medicine; the Spokane Valley family medicine clinic, Spokane pediatrics clinic, and the Spokane Valley pediatrics clinic. The downtown internal medicine clinic will remain open exclusively for medication-assisted treatment visits. 

The consolidations don’t affect MultiCare’s three respiratory clinics in Liberty Lake, Moran Prairie, and Cheney, which are accepting patients by appointment only right now. 

Those clinics focus on patients suffering from respiratory issues, which can be a symptom of COVID-19.