In its first 12 months, the St. Andrews Urgent Care Center saw 4,146 patients, an increase of over 7 percent from the last year that the St. Andrews Emergency Department was open.

This year, the urgent care center’s second year, patient volume is on track to increase again by a significant margin.

Those two years of rising patient traffic reverse a downward trend in visits at the former St. Andrews Emergency Department, where visits had dropped roughly 20 percent between 2007 and 2011.

Urgent Care Manager Carole Sharkey, RN, said convenience is a factor for some patients, and cost is also a motivation — patients from Friendship or South Bristol drive past emergency departments closer to home to reach the urgent care center.

The St. Andrews Urgent Care Center opened in 2013, replacing the former St. Andrews Emergency Department. The new center is staffed with emergency-trained physicians and nurses, as well as a laboratory and radiology department. It also now offers an infusion center, which allows local patients to receive therapies for chronic illnesses without driving hours to larger medical centers.

Because the urgent care center is open 12 hours a day (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) 365 days a year, it can offer patients lower costs. The St. Andrews Emergency Department was open 24 hours a day, but saw few patients after 9 p.m.

Because the staff at the urgent care center sees fewer seriously ill patients, waiting time is reduced. The average length of stay is well below that of most emergency departments and if laboratory or X-ray services are not needed, patients can be in and out in less than 30 minutes.

The new urgent care center is part of a series of changes by Lincoln County Healthcare to make healthcare less expensive and more convenient. Another reason for the transition to an urgent care center was that the small, isolated St. Andrews Emergency Department was unable to offer the standard of care necessary for today’s emergent patients, many of whom have very complex medical conditions.

No specialty care

One concern for urgent care center providers, however, is that patients with heart attack and stroke symptoms continue to seek care at the center, potentially delaying their treatment.

Urgent care is medical care without an appointment for problems that require a doctor’s attention but don’t require the specialty care available in emergency departments. For example, a simple bone fracture can be treated at the urgent care center, while serious trauma or a compound fracture that may require the services of an orthopedic surgeon, should be treated at an emergency department.

Examples of medical problems appropriate for urgent care include sore throats, coughs, fever, rashes, minor injuries, headaches, vomiting, flu-like symptoms or respiratory problems associated with asthma or allergies.

Because the specialized diagnostic equipment necessary to treat heart attacks or strokes is not available at urgent care centers, patients who arrive with those symptoms are usually sent on to an emergency department.

Symptoms of a stroke include: sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion or trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; or a sudden severe headache with no known cause.

Symptoms of a heart attack include chest pain, arm and or neck pain, and shortness of breath, which may be accompanied by lightheadedness, sweating and nausea.

Always call 911 in case of life-threatening injuries or stroke or heart attack symptoms. For more information about urgent care or the St. Andrews Urgent Care Center, call 207-633-2121.