OMC to expand emergency department

Fresh news from OMC:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
WHAT: OMC to Expand Emergency Department Services/Facility
WHEN: Monday, April 1, 2013
CONTACT: Jeremy Salucka, OMC communications & web services coordinator—
 
OMC TO CONVERT URGENT CARE TO FULL EMERGENCY SERVICES
 
Rochester, Minn.—Olmsted Medical Center (OMC) has a strong history of monitoring how patients use its services and, when necessary, adjusting services to respond to its patients’ evolving healthcare needs. Over time, more and more patients have been presenting to OMC’s urgent-care facilities with symptoms/conditions requiring emergency-room treatment. Ongoing examination of OMC’s patient-volume trends in its emergency medicine department (which currently offers urgent care and emergency room services) showed it was time to expand OMC’s dedicated emergency room services and convert its urgent care facilities to a better model.
 
So, in response to steadily increasing numbers of patients who need emergency healthcare, OMC will expand its current emergency-room facilities at the hospital by converting existing urgent-care rooms to fully equipped ER rooms. This conversion will take effect April 1, 2013. As of the April 1 date, patients with non-emergency healthcare needs are encouraged to visit other OMC locations.
 
To provide better access for patients with non-emergency healthcare needs, OMC is starting extended walk-in hours for non-emergency care at its Rochester Northwest outpatient clinic from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM on Saturdays beginning April 6, 2013. Other access points for patients with non-emergency healthcare services include OMC’s two FastCare clinics in Rochester Shopko stores, the OMC Skyway Clinic in downtown Rochester’s 318 Commons building, and OMC’s other outpatient clinics in Rochester and surrounding communities. OMC is also examining additional options for offering patients extended hours at other existing OMC clinic locations.
 
OMC’s expanded emergency room will remain open 24 hours/day, 365 days/year, and will continue to offer walk-in emergency medical services to all patients regardless of their ability to pay.
 
Olmsted Medical Center (OMC), a not-for-profit organization, has been southeastern Minnesota’s hometown healthcare provider since 1949. OMC’s 160 clinicians and 1,000 healthcare professionals serve at 18 locations, including two outpatient multi-specialty clinics, a Level IV trauma hospital with walk-in urgent care and 24-hour emergency room, two walk-in FastCare retail clinics in Rochester Shopko stores, a walk-in Skyway Clinic located in downtown Rochester, and nine community branch clinics. OMC has more than 20 specialties and is best known for its convenient, quality personal primary care.