Urgent Care Centers’ Adaptability May Help Them—and Patients—Through COVID-19

The “normal” way of doing things is no longer possible for urgent care operators during the COVID-19 crisis. Many around the country are looking at ways they can continue to serve their communities and keep their workers engaged while others are opting to close or consolidate locations. Prevea Health in the Green Bay, WI area, for example, is letting the community know that one of its locations is now dedicated exclusively to patients with upper respiratory complaints—at the same time asking those with other complaints to visit a different location. They’re also stressing the inherent safety of trying their telehealth service. Practices in other settings are taking a similar approach to start offering urgent care services. With many surgical procedures being postponed and patients putting off office visits that don’t entail immediate concerns, Appalachian Orthopedics in Bristol, TN dispensed with its appointment-based structure in order to offer orthopedic urgent care. In announcing the decision, they assured prospective patients that they follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Tennessee Department of Health on cleaning and sterilizing their facility. They’ve also employed tactics to maintain adequate distance between patients in the waiting room, and established a screening process to minimize the risk of COVID-19-infected patients from entering.