A Jefferson City-based medical group is expanding into Columbia.
Missouri Medical Group, a regional offshoot of Jefferson City Medical Group, is set to open its first primary practice in Columbia.
The practice of Heather Gessling, a family medicine physician, will open Sept. 1 at 525 N. Keene St., Suite 301, in Columbia, according to Jamie Patterson, JCMG’s vice president of marketing and business development.
The practice will stand in the same building as Neurology Institute of the Missouri Medical Group, Patterson said. The new family practice in Columbia will help fill a need in the community, she continued.
A 2017 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study showed that despite the presence of the University of Missouri, areas of Boone County still lacked primary care, according to a JCMG news release.
“We also have a lab up there — and an infusion center,” Patterson said, “where people go to get treatments.”
Infusion treatments are often necessary for people suffering from auto-immune or gastro-intestinal conditions, which require intravenous doses of some medications.
The group also offers dermatology at Express Care of JCMG, 1735 Elm Court, in Jefferson City.
The new Columbia practice is helping JCMG reach a goal of regional expansion, Patterson said.
John DeSpain, a dermatologist for the group, will soon be operating several more outreach clinics — whose locations are yet to be determined, she said.