Focusing on Specifics
The growth of immediate care facilities reflects a trend toward specialized care and optimized resources

Urgent treatment centers are now commonplace and offer an alternative to traditional hospitals and, increasingly, to private doctors’ offices. In addition, healthcare facilities aimed at specific audiences are becoming the norm.

Still, the exact numbers of these types of clinics are difficult to gauge. The state Cabinet for Health Services licenses many healthcare facilities. But a cabinet spokesman said there is no specific license category for urgent treatment centers. Many of the places that call themselves urgent treatment centers are operated by physicians and are exempt from licensing as a healthcare facility. They are treated more like a private doctor’s office.

So even though it is difficult to pinpoint the number of specialized clinics, participants in the healthcare industry say they believe increasing specialization is a continuing trend.

"I think there is a movement in that direction," says Scott Van Brunt, program director for the Norton Suburban Hospital Wound Care Center in Louisville.

The Wound Care Center has been in operation for approximately five years. Physicians there treat chronic, non-healing wounds in a non-emergency setting. Open Monday through Friday during regular business hours, the facility saw more than 6,000 separate visits and nearly 1,000 new patients last year.
"That’s a fairly busy center," notes Van Brunt.

The Wound Care Center boasts an 85 percent healing outcome, according to Van Brunt.

"We’re just treating a specific problem," he explains. "We look … exclusively at non-healing wounds."

Many of the center’s patients are referred by primary care physicians or through the hospital. Direct advertising attracts some patients while word of mouth brings in still others.

While the Wound Care Center and others like it see patients by appointment, most immediate care centers, by their nature, do not require such formalities.

Health Associates of Kentucky, Inc. operates six such treatment centers. They provide access to primary care in Nicholasville, Lexington, Georgetown, and Frankfort. The first facility opened in 1982 with the goal of providing access to affordable, convenient health care services with extended hours.

Frank Wood, the firm’s practice operations director, explains that this philosophy has not changed.

"Urgent treatment centers now offer more services than ever before," Wood notes. Each of Health Associates of Kentucky, Inc.’s clinics is "fully equipped to handle most minor emergencies with on-site services such as x-ray and laboratory."

The centers also work closely with companies in the areas they serve to develop health and safety programs tailored to each company’s specific needs.

"We provide a spectrum of services, including pre-placement physical examinations, drug screens, safety education, treatment of work site injuries, plus many other occupational medicine-related services," adds Wood. "The centers provide industrial and occupational medicine services to employees of more than 2,000 companies throughout Central Kentucky."

The company is just one provider in the growing cadre of clinics devoted exclusively to serving the business community. Several facilities across the state focus on providing care to workers who have been injured on the job.

BaptistWorx is one such outfit. Affiliated with Baptist Healthcare Systems, Inc., the operation is comprised of several separate clinics in Lexington, Louisville, LaGrange, Paducah, and Elizabethtown.

BaptistWorx is an occupational health and wellness service. It focuses on providing services to businesses whose workers have been injured on the job but who don’t require emergency room treatment.

"We are attuned to taking care of the injured worker," says Dr. Jeffrey L. Rice, medical director for the Lexington BaptistWorx clinic.

The goal of the clinic is to provide fast, cost-effective service and to help employers reduce their workers’ compensation costs.

The Lexington BaptistWorx center opened in December 1998. In addition to treating repetitive-motion injuries and accidents involving sprains or falls, the center does numerous pre-employment physical exams, on-going physical exams, and drug and alcohol testing. The clinic also has a physical therapy gym on-site for post-injury rehabilitation and work hardening programs.

Immunizations are also offered to area employees through the clinic. Tetanus shots, flu shots, and vaccines are available.

At present, the Lexington clinic sees approximately 30 employees per day, according to Rice.

"We’ve got plenty of room for growth," Rice adds.

One of the areas the clinic focuses on is wellness and prevention programs. Various health screenings such as fitness evaluations, body composition analysis, and cholesterol and glucose testing are offered.

A similar program is in place at Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green. At one time, the hospital operated a freestanding facility. Now injured workers in that area are treated through the emergency room.

But the hospital does still offer its industry wellness program. Kris Lowe, a registered nurse, is in charge of the Industry Wellness Program and also serves as the Workers’ Compensation Treatment Coordinator. Her staff does regular health-related tests at area businesses and also offers educational classes.

"Some of the services are free and for some we charge a small fee," said Lowe. "But it’s much lower than if you went to a physician’s office."

Lisa Summers is a staff writer for The Lane Report.

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