WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health has opened its first MinuteClinic retail health clinic in Topeka, Kan.

The company said Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast will join CVS Health and MinuteClinic executives today at the grand opening for the new walk-in medical clinic, located inside the CVS/pharmacy store at 3901 SW 21st St.

“Targeted expansion into markets like Topeka brings high-quality, convenient and affordable health care services to community members,” MinuteClinic president Andrew Sussman said in a statement.

With the new Topeka location, MinuteClinic now has a dozen clinics in Kansas, situated at CVS/pharmacy stores in Lawrence, Leavenworth and the Kansas City metropolitan area.

“There is a need for more accessible and affordable health care in Kansas, and the demand for MinuteClinic services will continue to grow due, in part, to the shortage of primary care physicians, the aging baby boomer population and the influx of newly insured patients through the Affordable Care Act,” added Sussman, who’s also executive vice president and associate chief medical officer, CVS Health.

According to Nancy Zaner, Midwest area director for MinuteClinic, the retail clinics can help patients find a medical home and complement care provided by a doctor. Patients who visit MinuteClinic without a primary care provider receive a list of physicians in the area who are accepting new patients.

“About 50% of MinuteClinic visits occur on evenings, weekends and holidays, when patients may not be able to get an appointment with their primary care provider,” Zaner noted. “And about half of the patients seen at MinuteClinic are ‘medically homeless’ and do not have a personal physician.”

Overall, MinuteClinic operates nearly 1,000 clinics in 31 states and the District of Columbia.