Long-time Sartell residents who walk into the “Sartell Pediatrics” clinic in Sartell will have trouble remembering what that building looked like before.
More than 30 years ago, that brick building at 111 2nd St. S. was a drive-up bank. And then, for many years, it turned into a series of bar-restaurants with varying names such as the V-Bar and The Bank.
And now, thanks to the owners and Hagemeister Mack Architects of St. Cloud, the facility is a brand-new working space with stunning wall colors, lighting ambiance and areas flooded with natural light from very large windows. Even the exterior of the building has been altered, with brick-work extensions to the east and west.
The owners of Sartell Pediatrics, Dr. David and Jill Smith, are very proud of their new business location in Sartell.
“We’re very happy to be part of the community and to have a clinic that is convenient, close and personalized,” said Jill Smith, who serves as practice manager for the clinic.
Dr. David Smith is also happy to have a Sartell location.
“”I am very excited to practice in the town we’ve grown to love and call home,” he said.
Dr. Smith was formerly an employee of St. Cloud Medical Group, but last year he decided to open his own clinic. He and Jill began looking for good office space with the idea of refurbishing an existing structure for their needs. After consultations with architects and planners, they decided the building on 2nd Street would be perfect.
“Hagemeister Mack Architects did wonders with this space in what was an odd-shaped building,” Jill Smith said.
The Smiths and the architects decided to save the “pluses” of the building, which included huge windows and a dance-floor area’s 30-foot high ceiling. That area is now a clinic station with examining rooms nearby.
Sartell Pediatrics is a primary-care clinic with a wide range of services that include newborn check-ups, well-child checkups, sports and school physicals, vision and hearing screenings, and diagnoses and treatments for a wide variety of the more common ailments, as well as more chronic ones that can include asthma, bronchitis, the flu, fevers and factors that can cause learning disabilities such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit disorder and behavioral problems.
“Our focus is on excellent care close to home,” Jill Smith said. “We want to make it easier for patients and their families by being close by. Even our parking is convenient, close to the building.”
Another major practice emphasis is trying to ensure each child patient keeps seeing the same primary-care giver at the clinic – Dr. David Smith. That kind of continuity, the Smiths said, is very important for the patients’ and their parents/guardians’ comfort levels and to make sure there is a continuity and proper follow-ups to all care.
While Jill Smith is a native Minnesotan, born and raised in White Bear Lake, Dr. David Smith, the son of a doctor, was raised in Ohio. He and Jill met there. They decided to move to Minnesota eight years ago, partly to be closer to Jill’s family. They have lived in Sartell since 2005.
Beside the Smiths, there are four other staff members at Sartell Pediatrics: two nurses, Kristi Athmann and Lois Fritz; receptionist Amanda Amundson; and a part-time office assistant, Hilary Burns.
Office hours are from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The office telephone number is 320-281-3339. Its website is www.sartellpediatrics.com.
