Oak Street Health celebrated its 13th Arizona location with a Jan. 30 grand opening at Sun Bowl Plaza at 10705 W. Peoria Ave.

With a community-based approach to health care, Oak Street Health opened its first office in January 2022 and has 10 locations in the Phoenix area and three in Tucson, among its more than 200 locations in 25 states.

“The reason they named it Oak Street is because there is an Oak Street in every town,” said Dr. Patrick Vinck, regional medical director.

The clinic offers primary care with a focus on Medicare exclusivity, but its service is expanded into a community room encompassing the many types of community care, including socializing, exercise, healthy cooking and other activities.

“We always try to engage the community and work with and partner with the community,” Vinck said.

The clinic began partnering with the Sun City Posse even before opening their office here, said Cmdr. Sarah Davis. Oak Street Health made a donation to the Posse in 2023 to begin their partnership. Davis was the guest speaker for the grand opening.

The Sun City clinic opened its doors in November 2023, but Vinck said they held off on the grand opening to get acquainted with the community and work out any kinks in the system common to a new business.

“We always go into areas with low amounts of primary care access,” he said. “Our goal is to not only rebuild health care, but bring excellent care to those who need it most. There’s a lot of need in this area.”

Rose Martin, senior regional vice president, said Oak Street Health recognizes that the health care system can be difficult to navigate and has its flaws. The clinic’s goal is to rebuild the approach to health care where they operate.

“Rebuild health care means taking care of patients differently and giving them the time to address their concerns,” she said. “We’re very excited to be in Sun City and service the community here.”

The Sun City office features a center medical director and two doctors supported by care teams, consisting of medical assistants, nurses, social workers, behavioral health technicians and scribes. It has 12 exam rooms and an in-house laboratory for blood tests and other work and the community room, which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a myriad of activities.