BLAINE, Minn. – The Blaine Medical Center has been home to several different medical specialties for years. The offer family medicne, pediatrics, ob/gyn, eye care, diagnostic imaging, physical therapy and more. This week, they are adding even more, with a brand new Urgency Center.
“The emergency room typically takes in trauma patients while urgent care is usually a family practice doctor seeing cold, cough, and flu symptoms. The urgency center is aimed at the space in between,” mentioned Matt Brandt, CEO of Multicare Associates.
The new center is a collabortation between Multicare Associates, the group who operates the center, and North Memorial Hospital, who will provide the doctors and nurses trained in ER triage. They say that Blaine was a natural spot for this type of care.
“Blaine is a great neighborhood because its eight miles to Mercy Hospital, six miles to Unity, and north is Cambridge,” explained Brandt, “There isn’t a hospital very close.”
They are still putting the finishing touches on the place, but in a matter of days it will be open to the public. When complete, it will have two rooms that will be as equipped as rooms in the ER, capable of holding gurnies, and several other more standard examination rooms. There will also be emergency physicians to handle trauma patients.
“If you have a major broken bone sticking out of the leg, we can handle that. We can sedate you, set the bone, and take care of that,” commented Brandt.
While urgent care clinics are common, urgency centers are a pretty new concept that gaining popularity among patients and doctors. The concept first arrived to the twin cities when a center arrives in Woodbury three years ago.
“It’s all about trying to control the cost of healthcare,” said Brandt, “These kinds of things keep the cost down.”
For cost and insurance purposes, visiting the Urgency Center will have the same copays that you would see at urgent care, which for most people, are dramatically lower than Emergency Room copays. You may be left with the question of when is the right time to go to urgent care, the urgency center or the emergency room, but Matt says he thinks of it in very simple terms.
“If I can drive myself to the hospital, I can drive myself here (urgency center). But if I need an ambulance, I’m too sick to go to the urgency center,” explained Brandt.
If you do visit the urgency center, and they think your injury or illness is not severe enough to require the urgency center, they will send you down the hall to their urgent care facility. Or, if you are more severe than they can handle, they will get you transported to a hospital.
The new Urgency Center will be having an open house on Saturday April 27 from 10:00am until 2:00pm. Visitors will get a sneak peek at the new facility, build their own first aid kit, and have a chance to see a North Memorial Air Care Helicopter up close. The center officially opens on Monday, April 29th, and will be open from 10:00am to 10:00pm 365 days a year.
