WellNow opening delayed

Mark Urban, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Mar. 1—TRAVERSE CITY — The grand opening of the WellNow Urgent Care in Traverse City has been postponed.

WellNow Urgent Care was scheduled to open for business March 1 at 3570 N. U.S.-31. A Friday email from the company headquartered in Chicago announced the Wednesday opening was postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances."

"We continue to look forward to serving the Traverse City community," the email statement said. "Like many healthcare organizations, WellNow is facing a number of residual challenges from the pandemic, including a difficult hiring environment and higher-than-expected operational and construction costs. We realized it was necessary to push our Traverse City opening date out in order to make sure we are operationally set up to provide the excellent care and experience that our patients expect from us.

"A new opening date for Traverse City will be announced as soon as possible."

The email statement went on to say that Traverse City area residents "in need of urgent care or occupational medicine services" from WellNow can visit the company's Cadillac location at 9065 34 Road or to start a virtual visit at https://www.wellnow.com/services/wellnow-virtual-medical.

The Traverse City location was supposed to be the 18th in Michigan. WellNow operates more than 200 centers in Michigan, New York, Ohio, Illinois Indiana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, according to company officials.

The WellNow website lists several locations "coming soon" in the state, including one in Gaylord at an undisclosed address.

WellNow opened in Cadillac at 9065 34 Road in Cadillac in May 2022. Construction on the Traverse City location began in June 2022.

In announcing the move to TC earlier this winter, WellNow said it planned to hire 5-10 employees to staff the new center, according to WellNow Manager of Public Relations Annie Keller.

WellNow Urgent Care is part of The Aspen Group headquartered in Chicago. The Aspen Group also operates Aspen Dental, Clear Choice Dental Implant Center, Chapter Aesthetic Studio and AzPetVet.

Aspen Dental has an office in Traverse City since March 1, 2016, according to Communications Manager Lauren Vespa. The TC office is located at 3375 W. South Airport Road.