Southern Ohio Medical Center has announced the Health Care Center located at 1248 Kinney?s Lane (SOMC’s south campus) in Portsmouth will convert to an urgent care center beginning June 20.

“We recognize the community’s need for a more centralized urgent care center,” SOMC President and CEO Randy Arnett said. “By evolving the Health Care Center into an urgent care facility, this will provide a new option for non-emergent care for the people in our area as well as a greater choice for local business leaders.”

“The Health Care Center has functioned as a very successful freestanding emergency department since 1998, though many people thought it was already an urgent care center,” Claudia Burchett, chief nursing officer at SOMC, said. “With the recent expansion of our Main Campus Emergency Department, there no longer is a need for two emergency facilities in Portsmouth and the

growing need for urgent care is more prevalent.”

Mary Kate Dilts Skaggs, director of nursing for SOMC Emergency and Outpatient Services, explained that like the urgent care center in

Wheelersburg, the new center will provide non-emergency treatment for minor medical complaints, such as minor lacerations, earaches, migraine headaches, sprains and fever. The center also will offer care to patients whose primary care physician is not available.

“Many local organizations are adopting insurance plans with much higher deductibles and co-pays for emergency department visits, whereas the cost of

a visit to the urgent care center is comparably less,” Dilts Skaggs said. “The decision to provide a second, more centralized urgent care center will

be a cost savings opportunity for our local patients.”

The hours of operation will remain the same (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Saturday). Outpatient services, testing, (including lab and x-ray) as well as the Ambulatory Infusion Clinic will continue to be available at the Portsmouth Urgent Care Center location.

“We truly feel that this decision is in the best interest of our organization and our community,” Arnett added. “We hope the community will

work with us as we grow and continue to provide the excellent quality care for our patients and their families.”

FRANK LEWIS can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232 or flewis@heartlandpublications.com