MONROE, CT — DOCS Medical Group opened an urgent care center at 427 Main St. on March 1, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its doctors offered much-needed testing for residents on the Stepney side of town.
Dr. JD Sidana, CEO of DOCS Medical Group, said it has 50 providers and 200 staff members among its 20 locations in Connecticut. The medical group opened its first urgent care center in Orange in 2009 and Monroe is its newest center.
“It’s been good,” Dr. Sidana said. “The town has treated us very well, very accommodating. We put in our best folks here.”
DOCS also added a familiar face for many town residents when Dr. James Marshall moved his practice from Immediate Medical Care Monroe to the new urgent care center.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, First Selectman Ken Kellogg and Community and Economic Recovery Coordinator William Holsworth welcomed DOCS Urgent Care with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The event was attended by brothers, Mark and David Sippin, whose family leased the commercial property to the urgent care center.
“It just fits together really nicely,” David Sippin said. “It’s a nice looking building in an historic town center. It is at an intersection with good visibility and traffic. We’re just happy to have DOCS Urgent Care.”
Sippin said it is a perfect fit with other businesses at Stepney Crossing, which has restaurants, Rite Aid Pharmacy and a People’s United Bank branch.
“Congratulations on behalf of the town,” Kellogg said after cutting the ceremonial ribbon. “We couldn’t be more happy to have you here.”
Sippin said the deal for DOCS Urgent Care came together quickly and it was able to open at 427 Main St. within two weeks. Kellogg recalled how excited he was to hear a new business wanted to come to Monroe — and it could do COVID testing.
Life saving care
Ray Giovanni, president of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, said the urgent care center literally saved his life when he went there with an ear infection one Friday last May.
Dr. Boguslawa Unger NP diagnosed the ear infection and prescribed antibiotics, but she also listened to Giovanni’s lungs and his heart.
“Twenty minutes later, she told me to go to the hospital,” he recalled, before looking at Dr. Unger and adding, “now I have a pacemaker and thanks to you I’m vertical and standing here.”
DOCS Urgent Care offers occupational health and primary medicine. It is currently open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Erika Foster, director of planning and implementation, said the goal is to expand to seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. She said to check DOCS’s Facebook page for updates.
“We want to be engrained in the community,” Dr. Sidana said. “We’re part of your community and we’re going to be here for years to come.”
