2000
expansion.
Dr. Anderson expanded his services by acquiring the Okato Practice from a local doctor, Dr. Dick Wilson after his retirement. After running that practice for three years, it was eventually merged with Oakura Medical. Around the same time, he also purchased the Opunake Practice. Initially, this practice was housed in an older building with its share of challenges. Still, after about a decade, it was relocated to a new medical centre on Napier Street, now managed by Coastal Taranaki Health Trust. This period also saw the retirement of Dr. Gunatunga, whose practice was seamlessly incorporated into the existing operations and expanding services for the community.
Dr. Anderson managed these practices with his unique personal touch, even establishing a specialist skin business, “Skin on Forty-Five,” in New Plymouth. He collaborated with various locum doctors and maintained a streamlined administration with just one practice manager for all clinics, fostering an environment where the team supported one another. In addition to these clinics, Coastal Medical also operated through the New Plymouth Emergency Department (providing staffing and training for doctors), the Hawera Emergency Department, and a training company called Paramed, which managed offshore oil paramedic staff. Dr. Anderson’s commitment also extended to the oil industry and emergency services for about a decade.
