Keep Your Eye on the Local Marketplace; When Practices Close, Patients Need New Options

The recent closure of an urgent care center in Hartselle, AL, as reported by local television station WAFF, has left regular patients scrambling to find new options for same-day care. Some patients who came to rely on the practice as a de facto primary care office are in especially dire straits, needing a quick refill of subscriptions for hypertension and other chronic conditions. While the reason for this particular urgent care center’s sudden closing is not detailed in local media reports, be aware that business conditions caused by the pandemic may ultimately result in more closures than would be typical in any other year. Those patients will need to find a new location they’re comfortable with. If you’re able, consider beefing up your promotional and outreach efforts to ensure area residents know you’re there. Let the chamber of commerce know your business is in good shape and ready to help if other community health resources dry up. Now especially, patients need you as much as you need them.