TTUHSC hosts grand opening of new pediatrics clinic in Southwest Amarillo

Texas Tech Physicians celebrated its expansion to Southwest Amarillo with a ribbon cutting for the new Texas Tech Physicians Pediatrics clinic Tuesday morning. The new location is at 6017 Hillside Rd., Ste. 500.

Texas Tech Physicians is the clinical practice of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), which provides comprehensive patient care experiences by offering innovative solutions from experts in the university community. Last year, Texas Tech Physicians Pediatrics had more than 37,000 visits at its main clinic. This new clinic will help provide more opportunities for patients to access care.

According to TTUHSC, the opening of this new clinic will help alleviate the shortage of physician pediatricians, due to the fact that some long-standing pediatricians in the community have retired.

One of the new clinic's physicians, Anders Leverton, spoke about his training in Amarillo and falling in love with the community, leading to his permanent residence here and commitment to continue to serve area youth.

"It seems like I have come full circle, and to me, that means a lot. I started here; I'm ending up here. I'm raising my family here. I got to love this community during my residency here. ... You always think about what you are going to do before you start residency, and I fell in love with Amarillo. All my plans changed, and I felt in my heart this was the right thing to do," Leverton said.

"I am looking forward to continuing to fill the gap of the shortage of pediatricians, to provide great care here in Amarillo. I have seen how much the department and how much our clinic has grown in just the few months that we have been open, and that excites me a lot. I know there are a lot of kids and families that are looking for help and looking for someone that will give them care, and I have a lot of energy and a lot of care to give," Leverton added.

The clinic marks the second expansion of TTUHSC in Amarillo to a new neighborhood. By bringing expert-driven care to a new area, TTUHSC is working to make outstanding health care more accessible to everyone.

At the clinic, the resident pediatricians held a soft opening in January and have since been serving patients from birth to 18 years of age with a variety of medical needs, including mental health, contraception, special needs, and more. At the clinic, Leverton is also able to provide in-house procedures such as suturing, Nexplanon implants, infant circumcisions, and more that would otherwise need to be referred to another facility.

Dr. Lori Rice-Spearman, President of Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, spoke about how the new clinic will change pediatric healthcare for the city of Amarillo and the upcoming 50th anniversary of TTUHSC Amarillo.

"We are here and will continue to provide for one of our most vulnerable populations, and that is our pediatric population. We continue as a university to be focused on access to care and ensuring every community that we are in that we are focused on our priorities and that they know they are included in those priorities," Rice-Spearman said.

The clinic hosts two in-house pediatricians and is accepting registrations and appointments now.

For more information or to book an appointment, visit them online at https://www.texastechphysicians.com/amarillo/pediatrics/hillside.aspx .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: TTUHSC celebrates grand opening of new pediatric clinic in Amarillo