By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Escambia County Healthcare Authority (ECHCA) officials said last week they are more than pleased with the progress being made on making Atmore Urgent Care a reality. If the pace continues, officials said, the facility’s staff will begin seeing patients in about four months.
Jason Daniel, ECHCA’s director of public affairs and marketing, said in an email interview with Atmore News that about half the work has been done on the state-of-the-art medical center building.
“It’s roughly 50 percent [completed],” Daniel said. “The facility is almost dried in so that internal work — sheetrock, painting, [installation of] equipment, etc. — can progress. We plan to be seeing patients in August 2022.”
Healthcare authority CEO Jeff Booth confirmed the optimistic outlook.
“Construction of the new Atmore Urgent Care facility is coming along nicely,” Booth said. “We are on schedule to open in the fall of 2022, hopefully in August.”
Daniel pointed out that the urgent care facility, which will be staffed by “three Advanced Practice Providers,” will actually consist of two clinics — one for sick patients or those there for screenings or other procedures, the other for work-required physicals and wellness visits.
“Atmore Urgent Care will be a two-sided clinic,” he explained. “On one side, Atmore Urgent Care will provide comprehensive urgent care for patients, including sick visits, x-ray, labs, small procedures and more. On the other, wellness and screening will be prioritized to include DOT physicals, annual wellness exams and preventive screenings aimed at early detection and diagnosis.”
The ECHA spokesman said the local medical facility, which is being built at a cost of $3.5 million, won’t be like the average urgent care center.
“In addition to the traditional urgent care services of provider care, pharmacy, lab and x-ray, we will have a minor procedure room, along with an extensive focus on front-end healthcare screenings and chronic disease management,” Daniel said. “We are extremely excited about bringing these expanded services to the citizens of this county.”