ES Rural Health Express Care sees 61 patients in eight hours on first day

The brand new Eastern Shore Rural Health Express Care center is officially open and had a busy day on its first day in operation on Tuesday, May 30.

Here is Eastern Shore Rural Health CEO Jeanette Edwards on Shore Talk Wednesday:

“Yesterday was our first day and we are excited to say we saw 61 patients in an eight hour period,” said Edwards. “It was great being able to get those individuals in who needed care that day.”

The types of patients seen by the staff included strep throat, upper respiratory viruses, ear aches, mild allergic reactions and more.

The Express Care is a walk-in only clinic – appointments are not available – for urgent needs or care needed in between appointments with your regular health care provider. ESRH Express Care sees patients ages two and up with urgent or serious, but not life-threatening conditions. You don’t have to be a Eastern Shore Rural Health patient to be seen. See expresscare.esrh.org for more information on what the Express Care center treats.

The cost of a visit to ESRH Express Care varies based on the services received and the specifics of your insurance plan. Express Care accepts most major insurance plans to help patients avoid out-of-network costs and also offers affordable pricing for those without insurance. Uninsured patients may qualify for a discount program that is based on family size and income. The price of these discounted “self-pay” services will depend on the type of visit.

Edwards said the Express Care came out of a community needs assessment conducted by the ES Rural Health Board of Directors:

“We opened up the Express Care because we did a needs assessment, and the people of both Accomack and Northampton County stated ‘we need something between primary care and the emergency room.'” So out of that came the Express Care,” Edwards said. “This has been a project that the board had the vision to say “we need to do this,” and the organization had the ability to put it together, move forward and open it up. So we are very excited about our first day and the continuation of our Express Care.”

The full interview from Shore Talk Wednesday with Edwards and Eastern Shore Rural Health’s Director of Communications and Development Amy Bull is available below: