Neighborcare Health is closed on Saturdays for the remainder of the year and it’s not clear at what point in 2020 it will be open on that day.

“Provider changes” have spurred the clinic, located at 10030 S.W. 210th Street, Vashon, to recruit two nurse practitioners or physician assistants, according to Jeff Keitges, administrator of the Neighborcare Health on Vashon, in a prepared statement released late Friday, Sept. 27.

“We understand this is a temporary inconvenience to patients who rely on Saturday visits and we want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we get our new providers on board,” Keitges said in the statement. “We encourage patients to plan ahead and schedule their appointments during the week so that the Saturday closure has the least impact possible.”

Keitges did not specify a date next year when the Vashon clinic would be open on Saturdays again. In the meantime, he suggested islanders visit Neighborcare’s West Seattle clinic, 6020 35th Ave., SW. Its hours on Saturdays are 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

When asked by the Beachcomber why Neighborcare did not have a specific Saturday reopening date in mind, Mary Schiller, director of marketing communications for the organization, said it depends on how long it takes to recruit, hire new providers and train them.

Schiller also told the newspaper that the reason the Vashon clinic needs to recruit more medical professionals is that one of there providers recently left for another job.

The vacancy means that in order for the clinic to be open on Saturdays, there would have to be less personnel working during the weekdays, when demand for appointments is the greatest, according to Schiller.

The Neighborcare Vashon clinic is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday hours vary, depending on the calendar day of the month. The clinic is closed Sundays.