The arrival of Sanitas Medical Center in Tallahassee means Florida Blue members have more options and access to healthcare providers in the capital city and rural areas.

Four new sites are designed to be a one-stop experience to provide a host of services under one roof. Dr. Venis Wilder, acting medical director at Sanitas, said the company's integrated health model allows patients to see a chronic care nurse for conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

A care educator then takes extra time to talk with them about the disease and disease management. Care coordinators specialize in helping those patients navigate the healthcare system. In addition, each site has mental health counselors to address the growing need for mental health wellness.

Wilder also said Sanitas offers a 24/7 virtual medical center that allows patients to receive consultations around the clock, which complements the center's telehealth and telemedicine.

"You don't want to go and spend that expensive bill at the hospital in the emergency room. You can actually put the MySanitas app on your phone and connect to an on-demand provider," Wilder said. "We have all of that available to our patients."

This week, leadership representatives from both companies gathered at the Lafayette Street location off Apalachee Parkway to recognize the $10 million investment to build four new sites serving the Killearn area (1415 Timberlane Road, Suite 416), south Tallahassee (5032 Capital Circle Southwest. Suite 4), downtown Tallahassee (904 E Lafayette St.) and 2415 N. Monroe St., which is slated to open in March.

In addition, Florida Blue Centers will be co-located at the Killearn and North Monroe locations and will have community resources, such as meeting space, available to both members and non-members.

Sanitas USA is a subsidiary of Keralty, a leading multinational health organization serving more than eight million people in Spain, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to its website.

Dr. Juan Estrada, CEO at Sanitas, said the company's model puts a strong emphasis on primary care and allows clinicians enough time to spend with the patients to better understand their health and social needs.

"We spend a lot of time understanding what's happening outside the four walls, working with the community assets and identifying how can we help people not only in the medical centers but at home," Estrada said.

Each center will eventually have six to eight physicians specializing in family medicine and internal medicine, along with family nurse practitioners.

Based in Jacksonville, Florida Blue is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and a subsidiary of GuideWell.

Pat Geraghty, president and CEO of GuideWell/Florida Blue, said Florida Blue serves nearly 400,000 residents in partnership with Sanitas.

"We've worked with them all across the state, and we're excited about bringing them ... to Tallahassee," he said. "This is a big commitment, and it's a commitment to bringing quality primary care and quality care to the community. We think that's an important statement."

A look at the physician to patient ratio shows a need for more providers, said Darnell Smith, Florida Blue North Florida market president.

In Leon County, there's one primary care physician to serve roughly 1,100 residents and one physician for every 3,000 residents in Wakulla County. The ratio jumps from 1 to 4,500 in Gadsden County.

"Our members really need this care. They and our partners need the support," Smith said.

During this week's ribbon-cutting ceremony, several medical providers and officials came out to see and tour the Sanitas site off Apalachee Parkway, in the former Chuy's Tex Mex building.

Dr. Temple Robinson, president and CEO at Bond Community Health Center, said Sanitas presence in Tallahassee complements existing programs by increasing much-needed access to healthcare patients.

"People have more choices now. I really think they are going to be a good partner," Temple said. "Florida Blue has always been a good partner in Tallahassee. I'm looking forward to being able to strengthen our relationship with Florida Blue and Sanitas and complement some of the services they may not have here for shared patients."

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey said Tallahassee was seeing significant growth within the private sector and the capital city was the state's "best kept secret."

"We're one of the fastest growing economies (in the state)," Dailey said. "To be able to expand our healthcare footprint in Tallahassee and provide great quality care is absolutely tremendous. We welcome them with open arms."

Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Sanitas Medical Center opens first Tallahassee location