Health Matters 9march2015

Health Matters To Help People Be Healthy

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March 2015

A new Convenient Care

HaysMed

Provided to our patrons free of charge

Photo by JOLIE GREEN Emily Zillinger, left, LPN and nursing student, demonstrates how to check a heartbeat on nursing student Calie Borthwick at the Hays Medical Center Walk-In Clinic.

Fulfilling the need

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he goal to offer an alternative form at HaysMed. “Injuries and illness don’t of access to care for patients with always happen when your doctor’s office minor illness and injuries was is open.” recently fulfilled by Hays Medical The realization that there was Center. a need for a walk-in clinic has For better service, HaysMed always been there, according to opened the Convenient Care the director of critical care.

Walk-In Clinic on Jan. 12 in the “We knew we needed to find a Oak Park Medical Complex, 2501 E. way to fill the need for unsched13th, inside Building 4, Suite 11. uled health care services at a Myers “(It) offers affordable, timely reasonable cost, and we needed a and convenient access to care,” way to increase access,” he said. said Kevin Myers, director of critical care The health care landscape is always Page 2

Need

changing, and businesses such as free-standing emergency departments, urgent care centers and retail clinics have grown much in popularity during the past few years, according to Myers.

An effort to provide such a service has been made in the past by the medical center, but it did not prove to provide all of the desired benefits.

“We tried with the Fast Track in the emergency department,” said Terry Siek, chief nursing officer at HaysMed.

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Photo by JOLIE GREEN Emily Zillinger, right, LPN and nursing student, demonstrates a consultation between a doctor and a patient with nursing student Calie Borthwick at the Hays Medical Center Walk-In Clinic.

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How it works

he long list of benefits the Conve- some of the primary reasons patients nient Care Walk-In Clinic provides are flooding in. are the many reasons why Skilled physician assistants, staff has kept busy since opennurse practitioners and staff are ing day. providing high-quality, conQuicker access to care for venient care that is quick and minor, non-life-threatening affordable. illnesses or injuries, lower co“We have had a very positive payments than a hospital emerresponse to the clinic since we gency room, no appointment opened,” said Kevin Myers, direcSiek necessary, extended hours, tor of critical care at HaysMed. location and the facility providing care “The feedback we are getting is mostly on most holidays and weekends are about the patients liking the hours and Health Matters

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the ability to get in and back out in a timely manner.”

“It helps with their day when no appointment is needed or necessary to walk in,” said Terry Siek, chief nursing officer at HaysMed. A few restrictions apply. Patients must be walk-in only with no appointment.

They must also be 6 months and older. Ages 16 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

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needs “While that service was convenient and quicker, we were not able to lower the cost.”

To fulfill this need, considerable preparation went into getting the clinic ready to open in January.

Crucial decisions had to be made, so different groups within the medical center were consulted about what services to offer, hours of operation and even the name of the clinic, according to Myers.

They determined the staffing model will be a nurse practitioner/PA, nurse and front office staff member.

Finding a location to meet the needs of the facility also took time.

“Because we already have clinics in operation, we were able to pull in our experts to work on billing, coding and collections,” Siek said of the preparation.

Lab personnel were consulted to determine lab types that would be offered on-site at the location.

“The building was already set up as a clinic, so that worked out nicely for us,” Myers said.

Research was then conducted to determine whether the extension should be an urgent care clinic, walk-in clinic or a free-standing emergency department.

“Because of the services we wanted to offer and the type of patient we wanted to serve, it was decided to go with a retail walk-in clinic,” Myers said.

The result was the completion of a seven-days-a-week clinic that now provides convenient, quick and affordable care to patients in non-emergency conditions, according to Siek.

The extended hours during evenings and weekends will allow convenient time frames for patients to see a provider.

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Photo by JOLIE GREEN Nursing students Shaelyn Kisner, left, and Calie Borthwick demonstrate how to check in a patient at the Hays Medical Center Convenient Care Walk-In Clinic.

Another benefit that derives from the opening of a walk-in clinic is the emergency department will now be freed of minor occurrences.

“It provides more space and time for more critical patients being seen with emergencies,” Siek said.

Choosing the right level of care is up to the patient, according to the chief nursing officer.

“Now you know there are other options besides the ER when you need care,” he said. “Walk-in facilities have been proven to be the better choice medically and financially.”

Need

• MAGGIE GEBHARDT

Health Matters

function The facility treats conditions that require immediate attention, but are not considered to be life-threatening or severe enough to be cared for in the hospital emergency department, according to staff.

“We are currently seeing an average of 42 patients per day,” Myers said. “So far, most of our patients have had colds, sore throats and flu-like symptoms.”

Other common medical conditions seen at the clinic include allergic reactions, back pain, eye irritations, headaches and migraines, minor burns, rashes, sprains and strains, asthma, ear infections, fever, mild abdominal pain, sinus infections and minor cuts. If presenting symptoms are worsening and require higher level testing and assessment, the patient will be directed to the emergency department for safety of their care.

Additional services include flu vaccines and immunizations.

Interest in sports physicals has been high. Beginning in April, and running through October, the clinic will offer sports physicals on designated day(s) of the week. HaysMed will publicize the days and times through its website and other advertising. Sports physicians will be on a first-come, first-serve basis without appointments.

Siek explained it is important to provide an alternative choice for non-emergent conditions such as these. Those who appear to have a serious injury or illness will be sent to the emergency room.

In addition to the positive feedback regarding the clinic’s hours, “patients are saying they are encouraged by the lower co-payments,” Siek said.

For most individuals, this will be the office co-pay identified by an insurance carrier for a clinic visit.

“You will be expected to pay any insurance co-pays before services are rendered,” Siek explained. “If you are uninsured, you will need to pay a $55 fee before treatment.”

A few changes have been implemented since the clinic first opened. Due to the high volume of patients, HaysMed added a second provider on the weekends and during the evening hours during the week.

Following the lead of many retail clinics, HaysMed will notify patients of the wait time when they check in. At the point where the patient’s wait time extends beyond the published closing time, the clinic will stop taking patients.

This allows all patients who are checked in to receive the full benefit of their time and allow staff to adequately provide

Health Matters

Photo by JOLIE GREEN Emily Zillinger, right, LPN and nursing student, demonstrates how to take a patient’s temperature. needed services. HaysMed will be adding the information to ads and signage at the clinic. If in doubt, call ahead to determine the status of checking in, especially in the evening hours. The clinic plans to offer an app that can be accessed to see what the wait times are and if it has accepted the last patient for the day.

“Our longest check-in to check-out time has been two hours, with an average of 90 minutes,” Myers said. “Because of the high volume of patients, we have added a second provider during certain times.”

The clinic is still seeing an average visit time of 90 minutes due to the complexity of the patients being seen.

“So far, it’s been steady. This morning, I got here and there was already a line of people, and that’s practically every morning,” said Maribel Alvarez, receptionist at Convenient Care Walk-In Clinic. “We try to get patients in and out as fast as we can.”

Due to such an incredible response from the public, the facility is already planning for the next big step.

HaysMed leaders are preparing for a move to a new location sometime during 2015. It is planned to be located near Vine Street and Interstate 70.

“As we move forward, we will continue to evaluate the needs of the community,” Siek said. “We will look for ways to improve our services to meet ongoing and changing needs for our area.”

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• MAGGIE GEBHARDT

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