Construction is ongoing on a family practice office to be run by the medical group that runs Turlock’s hospital, with plans to open the office in Patterson’s True Value shopping center in early November.

Turlock-based Kirk Larson Construction has been working for a few months on the Emanuel Family Practice office near Chilaberries at Ward and Las Palmas avenues.

Construction is right on schedule, according to John Sigsbury, the president and CEO of Emanuel Medical Center, which will run the Patterson office.

The office space should be finished by the end of September, and inspections by the California Department of Public Health will follow.

“We should be good to go by the beginning of November,” Sigsbury said.

The 3,900-square-feoot building has six exam rooms, offices and an X-ray room.

Emanuel has recruited a physician to see patients from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. five days a week when the office opens and to offer immediate care for patients who walk in or have an appointment.

A physician’s assistant is expected to join the team, followed eventually by specialists such as cardiologists, Sigsbury said, and open hours will be extended into the early morning and evening.

“The intention is to work up to a 7-to-7 schedule,” Sigsbury said. “We should be able to do that fairly quickly.”

Emanuel runs a hospital and two clinics in Turlock. Sigsbury said Patterson seemed like a good place to expand, as many Patterson residents travel to Turlock for medical needs.

Richard Nakamura, the CEO of Del Puerto Health Care District, which runs a health clinic in Patterson’s Keystone Pacific Business Park, said he saw having the new office in town as a plus.

“We welcome them — the more services that are available in the area, the better,” Nakamura said. “We not only serve the Patterson area, but Newman and Westley. On the West Side, there’s a cooperative effort with the other communities for health care.”

n Contact Maddy Houk at 892-6187, ext. 22, or maddy@pattersonirrigator.com.