Urgent care facility enters market with Gaylord location
GAYLORD — The area now has another option for medical treatment with the addition of the Pro-Health Urgent Care Clinic on M-32 West that opened in November.
An urgent care center is a walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of medical care for minor illnesses and injuries in an ambulatory medical facility outside of a traditional hospital-based or freestanding emergency room, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Cheryl Greene, a partner at Pro-Health, said Gaylord started appearing on the company's radar as a potential location when patients at its Rochester Hills location suggested it.
"What really locked it in was hearing from the insurance companies who said there was a need for this facility in Gaylord because patients were facing long wait times," she said. "We spent about a year looking for the location."
Michigan-based Pro-Health also has facilities in Orion Township and Sandusky. The Gaylord and Sandusky locations also provide family-practice services in addition to urgent care, Greene said.
Most of the time a patient will see a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Dr. Nick Buttar is the chief medical officer for Pro-Health and he said in an email that a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) have similar privileges to practice medicine.
"But (an) NP is (a registered nurse) first and then goes to NP school for two years whereas a PA goes to school for two years but may not have prior medical training," Buttar said. "It used to be the practice to take candidates to PA school who have prior medical background in (a) medical field like paramedics and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) but that pool is exhausted. This way (the) NP has more clinical experience than a PA. But both work under supervision of a physician."
If you are seriously injured in a car accident you probably need to go to a hospital emergency room. However, if you sprain an ankle while working in the yard on the weekend, an urgent-car clinic like Pro-Health can probably take care of you.
"Urgent cares are typically less expensive than going to the emergency room," said Greene. She added patients do not need health insurance to receive treatment at Pro-Health.
"We are fully credentialed with the health insurance companies," she added, so patients should be able to get a reimbursement depending on the coverage that they have.
Pro-Health's hours are from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
"We have digital X-ray (equipment) on site and we can do laboratory tests," said Greene.
SubscribeCheck out our offers and read the local news that matters to you
The Gaylord office also can provide testing for COVID-19 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and also administer vaccines. Those who need a physical to participate in school athletics or for an occupation can get those as well.
"We like to get involved in the community as we are a small company and we are not owned (by a hospital)," Greene said.
— Contact reporter Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Urgent care facility enters market with Gaylord location
