When there is no time for an appointment with your primary care physician that is when First Med comes to the rescue.
The urgent care walk-in centers, one located in Bayside and another in Glendale, employ board-certified licensed doctors, registered nurses and certified X-ray technicians. All patients have access to medical care when they need it, 365-days-a-year.
On hand is a broad range of medical equipment including electrocardiogram machines, respiratory nebulizers - used for asthma patients - plus tympanometry and audiometry tests for hearing. While First Med specializes in work-related injuries and occupational medicine, the staff treats just about anything that ails you.
“We see patients with everything from sore throats to coronary pains,” said Practice Care Coordinator Karen Mariani, who has worked at the company for 23 years.
First Med is not an emergency room, but there are plastic and hand surgeons on call. About 75 percent of their patients have one of the 13 different kinds of health insurance that First Med accepts, but uninsured patients can also receive care at a designated fee schedule.
While the six doctors and 15 nurses on staff perform everything from summer camp and work physicals to drug tests and treatment for allergies, burns, and fractures, they sometimes need to refer their patents to the nearest hospital if the problem is life threatening.
Though an average day may bring in 75 patients, First Med aims to offer personalized attention that contrasts expectations of a walk-in clinic.
Said Mariani, “We try to always follow-up, call patients and check how they are responding to the course of treatment.”
First Med in Bayside is located at 210-21 Northern Boulevard, Bayside. They are open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 718-224-8855.
