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Monroe Clinic shows off new Albany facility
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Times photo: Marian Viney Susan Kinast-Porter, left and Amy Simantel are the two doctors who will be working at the new Monroe Clinic branch office in Albany.
ALBANY - Once a "tight-fitting" office, Monroe Clinic in Albany now enjoys much more open spaces.

The new 5,300-square-foot facility, which opened April 1, was celebrated during an opening reception Wednesday. The Clinic's Albany branch moved to 700 Carolan Dr. from 100 N. Water St., where you "could hardly turn an ambulance gurney easily down the hallway," said Susan Kinast-Porter, one of the two doctors at the clinic since 2001.

More than 100 people came to see the new facility, complete with an "array of soothing colors and flowing design" and "double the exam rooms" from the Water Street location. Village trustees attended, as did Albany EMTs, state Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, members of Monroe Clinic's administrative team and clinic staff.

The clinic's attributes include in-house laboratory services, a minor procedures room, wireless technology, an outdoor healing garden, wider interior spaces and digital x-ray technology, made possible with a federal grant secured by Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

Kinast-Porter said the Albany location is the first clinic site capable of doing x-rays and having them immediately transmitted to the radiologists at the hospital in Monroe for faster and more accurate diagnosis and treatment.

"As this team settles into their new home, they are able to work in an environment that offers more space, better tools and increased opportunities to provide patients with quality medical care," Monroe Clinic President and CEO Mike Sanders said.

Jane Weldon, vice president of clinic operations, said that what is unique to each of the Monroe Clinics is that they are a "piece of the community," for example the clinic in New Glarus defines the Swiss heritage.

"What we wanted in Albany was for the patient to journey through a warm, healing environment," Weldon said. "From the moment you walk in the door, there is a sense of relaxation throughout the building."

Both doctors are excited about the "new era" of patient care at Monroe Clinic-Albany.

Dr. Amy Simantel, a physician who was "recruited" by Kinast-Porter to assist at the Water Street Clinic, will join her in the new clinic. Simantel is an internal medicine physician in the Adult Medicine Department.

"Helping people feel better and good about themselves is the most rewarding part of my job," Simantel said. "I also like treating a wide variety of acute and chronic medical problems."

Being a part of the Albany community is important to Kinast-Porter, who admits her favorite room in the clinic is her office, which is complete with a special collection of Wizard of Oz memorabilia that patients have given to her.

"I spend a lot of time with my patients to ensure that all their needs are met," Kinast-Porter said. "I enjoy getting to know them and being part of the community of Albany."

Kinast-Porter provides comprehensive health care to all members of the family.

Clinic hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday.

"We have extended hours to meet our patients' needs," Kinast-Porter said.

Monroe Clinic is a not-for-profit health system sponsored by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes. Monroe Clinic offers health care with more than 80 providers, a 24-hour emergency room, home care and hospice services, as well as six other branch clinics in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.