The sudden closure of a medical clinic in North Naples has taken its patients - and its doctors - by surprise. The offices of Coastal Physician Care near Airport-Pulling and Immokalee Roads closed Friday. All of the clinic's staff were terminated with no advance warning.
Retired physician Dr. Richard Friess heard about the office closing from friends who also use the clinic. Friess was a patient of Dr. Cristina Sciavolino-Day, and had an appointment scheduled for this week.
"She had a very good reputation," Friess said. "I know of a number of people who have seen her and spoke very highly of her."
A note on the window of the clinic says that the owners closed the practice, and that the decision is as shocking to the doctors who worked there as it is to the patients. A recorded message on the office telephone line doesn't provide any answers.
"They said the place was closed, and there would be further information about where you could retrieve your records or have them transferred," said Friess, who listened to the message. "Essentially, that was it."
Fox 4 spoke to employees of other businesses in the office complex where the former clinic operated, but they said they didn't know why the medical office closed. The clinic's owners could not be reached for comment.
Friess said that today's corporate medical world is much different from when he first start practicing in South Dakota.
"We had our own practices, ran our own clinics, and took care of our patients," Friess said. "And then corporate medicine takes over."
On the door to the former clinic, the three doctors who worked at Coastal Physician Care posted names and numbers of places where their patients could try to find new doctors and prescription locations. The doctors also wrote that they are currently seeking new employment.
