A new, public urgent care center has opened in Queens.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration marked the opening today of the ExpressCare clinic in Elmhurst, which is one of three planned by NYC Health + Hospitals. They’re intended to provide walk-in access for patients with non-life-threatening conditions.
Adult patients can get care for conditions such as colds, flus, sprains, skin rashes, minor cuts and lacerations, as well as certain types of infections. But children and teens who are in need of care will be directed to emergency rooms.
“The opening of our ExpressCare clinics will help residents get faster treatment for less serious symptoms while connecting them with follow-up care in the long-term.”
All clinics will be equipped with emergency-trained physicians who will then connect patients with a primary care doctor inside the Health + Hospitals system for follow-up care.
“Our communities are better served when our public hospital system can quickly and effectively address non-urgent health care needs in our ExpressCare clinics,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, deputy mayor for Health and Human Services.
Each of the clinics will accept most insurance plans. The uninsured will be offered the Health + Hospitals’ reduced-fee payment plan as well as receive financial counseling, if they desire it, to help them apply for insurance.
The ExpressCare clinics will be open seven days a week. The Elmhurst location joins a Bronx clinic that opened in August, with a third planned in the Bronx next spring.
The three clinics are:
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst: 79-01 Broadway, room A1-18. 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln: 234 E. 149th St., Suite 1C2A, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends and holidays.
- NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi: 1400 Pelham Park South. It is scheduled to open in March.
For more information, or to make an appointment with a primary care physician or specialist at NYC Health + Hospitals, call 844-692-4692.
