DOWNEY MEDICAL CENTER TO OPEN URGENT-CARE CLINIC THIS SPRING
By The Downey Patriot
Downey Regional Medical Center is constructing a primary, urgent care clinic focused on relieving pressure on emergency rooms by providing affordable, preventative health coverage to thousands of uninsured and underserved residents of southeast Los Angeles County.
“Last year, we spent over $25 million serving nearly 13,000 indigent patients in our emergency rooms,” said Dr. Natalie Nevins, director of medical education at Downey Regional. “We have to get them in a clinic environment − we have to stop the Band-Aid care.”
The new 5,000-square-foot clinic, projected to open in April near the corner of Brookshire Avenue and Firestone Boulevard in Downey, is a collaboration with Amrit Davaa World Health.
According to a statement released by Downey Regional, the clinic will provide comprehensive primary care, including lab services, mental health referrals, pre-natal and urgent care, for children, adults and seniors, regardless of their ability to pay. The clinic will also become a referral source for low-income populations and serve as a follow-up facility for those recently discharged from the hospital.
“Access to preventative medicine is the key to a healthy community,” Nevins said. “The center’s education, preventative care, and holistic, family-centered approach will decrease morbidity, decrease healthcare costs, improve emergency room wait-time for those with true emergency medical problems and overall improve the quality of life for Downey’s surrounding communities.”
The center will also provide a team training site for Downey Regional residents, working in the hospital’s Family Practice Residency Program. In conjunction with Downey Regional professionals, students seeking medical, nursing, optometry, podiatry, and dental degrees from Western University of Health Sciences, will have the opportunity to work with patients at the care center.
1 Comment
I’d love a follow up to this article to see how they’re doing.