St. Anthony’s Medical Center will open its fourth urgent-care center Friday, July 11 at Highway 44 and Big Bend Boulevard to serve residents of Crestwood, Kirkwood, Sunset Hills, Webster Groves, Affton and surrounding communities.

Construction began in September on the two-story, 20,000-square-foot brick building at 10296 Big Bend Blvd.

The building is owned by Metropolitan Urological Specialists, which will have of-fices there. St. Anthony’s 5,000-square-foot Big Bend Urgent Care is on the first floor along with St. Anthony’s primary-care physician practices.

The new urgent-care center will begin seeing patients on July 11. A formal grand opening will take place in the fall.

“This new center will fill a definite need for immediate-care services in this community and provide residents with quick, convenient medical care for minor injuries and illnesses,” Mike Anderson, St. Anthony’s director of Urgent Care Centers, stated in a news release. “When you can’t get in to see your doctor and you don’t need emergency room care, urgent care is the answer.”

“People today are busy and they don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting for medical care. They also don’t want to drive across town to access the care they need,” stated Dr. Donn Richards, medical director of St. Anthony’s Urgent Care. “Urgent-care centers generally are less crowded and less expensive than emergency rooms, while offering the same high-quality care from credentialed St. Anthony’s physicians — and they are conveniently located right in people’s neighborhoods.”

St. Anthony’s Big Bend Urgent Care will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week to treat non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

No appointment is needed, and medical insurance covers urgent-care visits.