Editor’s note: This article is by Lisa McCormack, of the Stowe Reporter. It was first published on March 19.
[T]he walk-in clinic at the Baggy Knees Shopping Center on Mountain Road provides treatment of minor illnesses and injuries. It also provides physicals and vaccines, minor surgical procedures, X-rays and laboratory services, and treatment of work and sports-related injuries.
Tim Fitzgerald opened the clinic in 2009.
While business was strong at first, it tapered off in the past two years, Fitzgerald said Monday.
Tourists frequently use the clinic, but there’s not enough local support to run it at a profit, he said.
“I’ve been losing money for the past two years and decided to cut my losses,” Fitzgerald said.
New federal regulations that soon take effect would have made it even more challenging to run the clinic as an independent practice, he said. For instance, an electronic medical records system would cost between $40,000 and $50,000 plus a yearly fee, he said.
Fitzgerald tried to sell the clinic to other urgent care groups, but was unsuccessful.
After closing the clinic, he plans to work part-time for a New Hampshire-based urgent care group with clinics in Berlin, Vermont and New Hampshire before deciding what his next steps will be.
