Health care for senior citizens in south St. Petersburg just got a major upgrade.

  • Facility at 22nd Avenue South and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street
  • Concept is to provide holistic approach to medicine
  • Center has specialists in house, and pharmacy

Ribbon cutting ceremonies were held Thursday at the Dedicated Senior Medical Center.

The former Walgreen's building at the corner of 22nd Avenue South and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street has been turned in to a one-stop shop senior health care facility, complete with specialists in house, a pharmacy and as CEO Dr. Christopher Chen describes, some of the best personal attention from doctors.

"The average Medicare patient only spends 21 minutes a year with their doctor. Our doctors see our patients on average, 13 times a year and we spend 289 minutes a year."

This all comes at no additional costs to patients. The concept is to provide a holistic approach to medicine that goes beyond just writing prescriptions, but building a relationship with each patient and focusing on preventative care.

Officials say that's how they are able to keep costs down.

With 43 centers in three states, center officials say their patients spend a third less time in hospitals than other senior citizens.

For Olivia Mason, having all that care rolled into one, just blocks from her home, is nothing short of a Godsend.

"Since I've been coming here, I've just been so happy. I've been so amazed. I'm amazed," she said. "It's amazing what attention does to health, isn't it? It is. It makes you feel wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."