By Albert Amateau
A woman with a sprained ankle hobbled into a brand-new urgent-care center in Chelsea around 8 p.m. Tues., March 8.
She was the first patient in the center that North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System opened an hour earlier at 121A W. 20th St., in partnership with VillageCare, to help fill the void left by the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital last April.
“She was in and out in about 40 minutes — after we X-rayed and gave her a brace, pain meds and referrals to local help,” said Dr. Benjamin Greenblatt, medical director of the urgent-care center, referring to the center’s first patient.
“She was our prototypical patient. I was expecting patients to find us through the Internet, but she was just hobbling around looking for someplace for help,” said Greenblatt, a North Shore-L.I.J. doctor for the past nine years and associate emergency room director of Forest Hills Hospital, a North Shore-L.I.J. affiliate in Queens.
The new urgent-care center occupies the lower level of VillageCare’s primary-care clinic between Sixth and Seventh Aves. The center, open all night on weekdays and Saturdays and 24 hours on Sundays, sees walk-in patients, without appointments, 365 days a year.
During daytime hours on weekdays and Saturdays, VillageCare serves urgent-care patients when the new center is closed. VillageCare is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The new center picks up its schedule when VillageCare is closed, providing 24/7 community healthcare.
“The clinical arrangement with VillageCare is unique,” said Greenblatt. “It provides continued care for urgent-care patients who need ongoing treatment and other services.”
The 4,000-square-foot downstairs space includes a reception desk, six examination rooms, and special testing and diagnostic services, including electrocardiogram, digital X-ray and lab facilities. The staff, in addition to Greenblatt, includes certified emergency room physicians, radiology technicians, office and medical assistants, security guards and a driver.
