GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer Inc. said it is expanding its partnerships with health care providers and hospital systems to increase community access to services through in-store and store campus medical clinics.

Meijer said it will join forces this year with Milwaukee-based Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin health network to open in-store clinics at the Waukesha and Sussex Meijer stores and with Sparrow Health System in Lansing, Mich. to open similar clinics at Meijer stores in the Lansing area.

The clinics will offer convenient, affordable access to care for many minor health problems, such as cold and flu symptoms; sore throats; and ear, sinus and urinary tract infections, Meijer health and wellness director Jacquelyn DeBruler said.

“Meijer is committed to expanding convenient access to health care providers,” DeBruler said. “These partnerships give us an opportunity to connect local providers and patients, ultimately meeting people where they are.”

Illnesses rarely present themselves at convenient times, DeBruler said, and these medical clinics provide a solution for customers. The clinics are staffed by the partnering health care provider or hospital systems’ physicians or physician assistants, and they offer a variety of clinical and acute care services, she added.

The retailer began establishing these types of partnerships several years ago, which resulted in four in-store medical clinics, seven hearing centers and 75 optical centers.

“We know that access to immediate medical care is very important to our community,” said Florence Steinberg, director of business development for Bronson Healthcare. “That means making sure we are doing all we can to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time. Having Bronson FastCare inside a Meijer store helps area families get expert medical attention quickly and without having to go out of their way.”

“Patients constantly praise how quickly we are able to see them and how convenient it is to have us right there in the store,” said nurse practitioner Melanie Harrison, who is practice manager for Reid Urgent Care and Reid Ready Care Clinic. “Many patients have their family members do the shopping while they are at our clinic. They also love that they can leave our clinic and take a few steps to the pharmacy to get their prescriptions filled.”

Additionally, Meijer partnered with Spectrum Health in November 2015 to open a full-service Meijer retail pharmacy on site at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. Spectrum Health has also purchased property from Meijer in front of its stores in Ionia and Grand Haven to build medical centers. Construction on the center in Ionia is slated to conclude this spring.

Currently, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer’s in-store clinics are located in the Bronson FastCare Clinic at the Portage, Mich., Meijer; the Beaumont FastCare at the Royal Oak, Mich., Meijer; the Reid Health Ready Care Walk-in Clinic at the Richmond, Ind., Meijer; and the Family Quick Care at the Normal, Ill., Meijer.