ROCKLAND — Later this month, Pen Bay Medical Center will begin renovating space in the Rockland Plaza at 75 Maverick St., in Rockland, that will become the new home of Pen Bay Walk-in Care. The plaza also houses a Hannaford Supermarket and a Planet Fitness.

Pen Bay Walk-in Care is currently located in the Bok Building, at 6 White St., in Rockland. The hospital sold that building and the Knox Center earlier this year with the agreement that Walk-in Care and several other Pen Bay departments could remain until their new home is ready.

“This new location is a good example of the work we are doing to make it easier for patients to access the health care they need,” said Tyson Thornton, vice president of operations for Pen Bay and Waldo County General Hospital, in a news release. “It’s more centrally located in the community we serve and has easier parking options for patients.”

In addition to Walk-in Care, the new space will also house a primary care office and the hospital’s physical and occupational therapy (PT/OT) and occupation health and safety departments.

“Having this group together will create opportunities for collaboration that will benefit our patients,” said Thornton. “For example, there are many patients who are referred from primary care to PT/OT, which now will be just down the hall. This creates opportunities for warm hand offs or ad-hoc conversation associated with patient progress.”

The move will trigger a domino effect that will increase access to care in other parts of the hospital, according to Thornton. For example, moving the adult PT/OT offices to the new Rockland location will free up space on Pen Bay’s main campus to expand the Cardiac Rehabilitation department to meet an increase in patients.

Also moving into the new space will be Health Connections, the hospital’s occupational health and safety department that serves businesses, local government, school systems, nonprofit institutions and others requiring occupational health, wellness and safety services. Health Connections currently operates out of space at 731 Commercial St. in Rockport.

Renovations are expected to be completed this spring with walk-in care and other offices scheduled to move in shortly after that.

About Pen Bay Medical Center

Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of eight local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit pbmc.org.