Beaches Dermatology Opens New Office

Beaches Dermatology has vacated its offices on S. 14th Street and moved into a new, freestanding building at 791 Amelia Island Parkway. The relocation will allow the medical group to see more patients and add procedures.

Beaches was founded by Clarence E. Boudreaux in Jacksonville Beach in 1990 and opened its first office in Fernandina Beach in 1996.

“We’ve outgrown it,” Boudreaux said of the 14th Street office. “We’ve been the only dermatology office on the island for the past 28 or 29 years.”

The new office will allow the practice to expand from three physicians to four physicians, with the fourth doctor coming on board later this year, he said. The staff also includes about eight physician assistants. With an expanded staff and more patient exam and procedure rooms, Boudreaux said patients who have an urgent need can expect to land an appointment within a couple of days.

The new location allows the dermatologists to offer Mohs skin cancer surgery — the first provider on Amelia Island to offer Mohs. Mohs is a surgical technique often used to treat the two most common types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The surgeon removes the cancerous skin one layer at a time and examines each layer microscopically until no cancer remains. The procedure has been found to raise cure rates while preserving as much healthy tissue as possible.

“Mohs is a surgical cure for cancer as opposed to cosmetic outcome,” he said. “Certain cancers tend to be a little more aggressive and more difficult to get a clear margin on. Those skin cancers, especially on the face, will have a higher cure rate with Mohs.”

Boudreaux said the practice aims to offer as many on-site services as possible for Amelia Island residents' convenience.

“The patient population that gets skin cancer is mostly age 65 and up,” he said. “Many of our patients are octogenarians, and they don’t have the ability to drive to Jacksonville or don’t want to drive to Jacksonville because of the traffic.”

The primary focus at Beaches Dermatology is skin cancer, Boudreaux said. However, the new center is set up to meet the growing demand for cosmetic dermatology.

“We do general dermatology and other surgical skin cancer procedures,” he said. “But most people expect a dermatology office to offer everything. We also offer cosmetic procedures, dermal fillers, Botox and cosmetic injections.”

The clinic offers laser procedures for hair removal, skin tightening and treating facial redness and blood vessels.

“We’ve dedicated a significant amount of floor space to having a laser surgical suite as well as an injection area,” he said. “We have a trained physician assistant that does the aesthetic injections as well as a physician assistant who does the laser.”

Beaches also sells medical-grade skin care products. “Our focus is skin care and giving the island a high quality dermatology care,” he said.