Renovation of a former grocery store into a full-service pediatric center could be finished as early as next month, according to officials from Community Mercy Health partners.

Mercy Well Child Pediatrics, now operating at Mercy Memorial Hospital in Urbana, will move into a renovated former grocery on Patrick Avenue in order to offer more space to serve its growing list of patients, said Deb Dunham, manager of Mercy Well Child.

The center, which has seen a 30 percent increase in patients in each of the past few years, represents a roughly $1 million investment in the city from Community Mercy Health Partners. It has increased from a staff of five to a staff of 16 in the past three years.

The facility offers a range of services to its clients, who can be served from birth to 21 years old. Among the services, the pediatric center offers nutrition screenings, physicals, sick care, immunizations, social services assessments and referrals and child development assessments, including autism screenings. The facility had outgrown its former space in the hospital, and the new facility is on schedule to open on Jan. 28, Dunham said.

“It’s just a real pediatric approach to health care we haven’t seen in many other places,” she said of the program.

The new location, in a former Big Bear Store at 204 Patrick Ave., will offer additional space for a larger waiting room, a family education center and nine exam rooms, said Dave Lamb, a spokesman for Community Mercy. The current facility in the hospital has four exam rooms.

Community Mercy had considered several other options when it became clear the pediatric facility had outgrown its space, Dunham said, but it ultimately decided the former grocery store was the best fit. The 8,500 square foot facility will also offer additional room to expand as well as more parking, if needed.

“Rather than tear anything down and start something new, we have re-purposed this building,” Dunham said.

She described the center as a medical home in which providers from several different disciplines work together under one roof to serve local families. The program is not a money-maker for Community Mercy, Dunham said, but shows the organization’s commitment to the community’s health.

“It helps the community, and it helps us too,” Dunham said.