Chuck E. Ped: Practice at the fun park

A North Carolina pediatrics group incorporates some of the lively trappings of a former miniature golf course and arcade.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. Dec. 22/29, 2003.

When it's time for new space, most physicians think professional office building. A group of North Carolina pediatricians, however, thought putt-putt.

Suburban Pediatric Clinic, a six-physician practice in Kannapolis, near Charlotte, recently opened its new office on the former site of a fun park and even incorporated some of the old attractions into the practice.

Instead of muted colors in the waiting room, there's miniature golf. Rather than fine art, the office has arcade games.

While it is true that most pediatric offices use colorful decorations to make them friendly for children, this office could also double as a weekend hangout. At a time when having an office outside a professional building strays from traditional thinking and operating in retail space is seen as downright bold, this practice doesn't just buck the trend. It literally throws it for a loop-the-loop.

"There's a huge interest in the community," said Joseph Stegman, MD, a pediatrician and medical director of the group. "I'm sure there was a lot of ribbing about the plan, but whatever people were saying behind our backs, they're not saying now."

The new office impressed kids, parents and other physicians alike as they toured it during an open house in November. The notable appreciation was the reward for a leap of faith taken by both the physicians who purchased the property and NorthEast Medical Center, the hospital based in nearby Concord, N.C., that owns the practice and gave the go-ahead for the move.