DAVENPORT – Shoppers at a Davenport Hy-Vee store can pick up a loaf of bread, a gallon of milk, squeeze the produce and … get their ears checked?

The Iowa-based grocer opened an in-store medical clinic in December, in conjunction with Trinity Regional Health System. It opened a similar clinic in Omaha, Neb., last month and is considering putting clinics in other stores throughout the Midwest, including Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Kansas City, Mo., and Sioux Falls, S.D., said Ruth Comer, a Hy-Vee spokeswoman.

The clinic in the Davenport store is staffed by a physicians assistant or nurse practitioner, who sees patients on a first-come, first-serve basis for common ailments, such as ear infections, strep throat, pink eye, bronchitis and the flu.

“They can take care of people when the doctor’s offices are not open,” said Scott James, manager of the Davenport Hy-Vee.

“It’s quick and convenient health care.”

The clinic, called Trinity MedXpress, sees about nine patients on a typical day, said Kyle Parks, a physician’s assistant at the clinic. A visit costs $45 and each lab test is $15, and the clinic accepts insurance, he said.

Patients who need more advanced care are referred to their regular doctor or the emergency room, he said.

“It’s a very good thing and a convenience for people,” Parks said. “I am surprised it hasn’t been done before.”

Analysts say the idea of the in-store clinics is not to make money, but to increase foot traffic in stores and promote convenience.

Matt Eyring, managing director of Innosight, a Watertown, Mass., consulting firm, said the cost and convenience trend is “coming to a head.”