NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens celebrated the opening of ExpressCare Clinic — the second location in the borough, building on the system’s vision to transform care for New Yorkers in all five boroughs.
Providing faster access to medical care for patients with non-life-threatening conditions, the new clinic will be open seven days a week operating from 4 p.m. to midnight on weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.
Additionally, the clinic will offer walk-in services for conditions such as colds, flu, sprains, skin rashes, minor cuts and lacerations, and certain types of infections. Patients who typically use the emergency department for these conditions, will find shorter wait times and faster service at the ExpressCare Clinic.
Christopher Roker, CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, said they’re excited to have a high-quality, walk-in, urgent care clinic, ExpressCare, to expand its community in Eastern Queens.
“We’ve seen the great impact that these clinics have had at other hospitals in our system and we fully expect that ExpressCare will help to reduce the wait time for many who come to us through the emergency department by providing immediate care for those with less emergent cases,” Roker said.
Shifting patients with non-life-threatening conditions to the ExpressCare clinic will shorten their wait times. The clinic will also differ from stand-alone urgent care centers by offering a closer connection to primary care providers. The emergency-trained physicians at the ExpressCare clinic will help ensure patients receive the appropriate follow-up care by connecting them with primary care doctors in the NYC Health + Hospitals system.
The ExpressCare Clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens began treating patients on Friday, Nov. 1. Since its opening, physicians have seen more than 600 patients. Most commonly, clinic visits include cold and flu symptoms, chest and breathing problems, bacterial eye infections, ear aches and vaccinations.
Patients visiting the ExpressCare at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens who are assessed as having serious medical conditions that cannot be treated in an urgent care setting or who may require hospital admission will be fast-tracked to the Emergency Department for further treatment.
NYC Health + Hospitals worked with OneCity Health, the State’s largest Performing Provider System, part of the Medicaid Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, to create the clinical model for the ExpressCare clinics, which are designed to support the DSRIP goal to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent by 2020.
“Access to health care requires access to primary care,” said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried. “NYC Health + Hospitals is taking an important step with this new ExpressCare clinic at New York City Health + Hospitals/Queens that will increase patient access, expand the range of services, and serve the community well.”
State Senator John Liu said, “Helping people get well quicker is just sensible policy on so many counts, and keeping people out of emergency rooms will not only save money but inevitably save lives of those in true emergencies. NYC Health + Hospitals is to be commended for this effort, which must be sustained and expanded long beyond this announcement.”
ExpressCare clinics will accept most insurance plans; walk-ins are welcome and no appointments are necessary. Patients should bring photo identification and an insurance card to the clinic. Patients without insurance will be directed to the health system’s reduced fee-scale payment program or receive assistance with enrollment if eligible.
NYC Health + Hospitals plans to expand the ExpressCare model to other public health system facilities in the coming months. Thus far, ExpressCare locations include NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst and NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln.
To get more information on ExpressCare or or to make an appointment with a primary care physician or other specialists at NYC Health + Hospitals, please call 1-844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).
