Urgent Care Center Closes at University Suburban Health Center
[SOUTH EUCLID, OH]. -- [July ], 2002 - University Suburban Health Center (USHC) announced today that its Urgent Care Center will close, effective
September 1, 2002. Rising malpractice insurance rates, maintaining emergency physician coverage, and bearing significant and continuing losses, led to the decision. This announcement only affects the Urgent Care Center at USHC.
"We've been providing urgent care services to the community for 18 years so we thought carefully about how this decision might affect our patients." says Cathy Schilero, R.N., Director of Medical Operations at USHC. "First and foremost, we are committed to giving the best medical care. But we are facing significant issues that could, at some point, impact on quality. That's not a compromise that we are willing to make for the sake of our patients."
Schilero cited three reasons for the closing. "Staffing our Urgent Care Center with emergency physicians who are highly trained to handle a variety of injuries and illnesses is becoming more difficult. To some of these specialists, the activities and salaries that are currently available in hospitals' emergency rooms are often more attractive than working in urgent care centers."
In addition, skyrocketing malpractice insurance rates have raised concerns in USHC's Urgent Care Center, as well as with physicians nationwide, according to Schilero. "The price of physicians providing care, especially in some specialties, is becoming extremely expensive and, in some instances, nearly unaffordable because of the amount of insurance that they are required to carry," she says.
Declining reimbursement rates haven't helped either, she says. "Urgent care centers have historically been poorly reimbursed for the services they provide and we are no different," says Schilero. "Although these facilities are staffed with physicians specializing in emergency care, highly trained nurses and support staff who are prepared to handle the wide scope of urgent medical situation seven days a week, insurance companies reimburse at the rate of a physician's office visit. Reimbursement rates continue to fall well short of the costs of providing urgent care service, which result in our losses."
After September 1, individuals who are seeking urgent care services affiliated with University Hospitals of Cleveland are encouraged to go to University Hospitals' Urgent Care Center at the Chagrin Highlands Medical Center. The facility is located at 3909 Orange Place in Orange Village and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The telephone number is 216-896-1800.
University Suburban Health Center (USHC) is an independent outpatient health care center that is affiliated with University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University. The Center's 168 physicians represent more than 35 specialties of medicine and surgery. USHC also provides ancillary services such as the Wright Surgery Center, laboratory testing, full diagnostic scanning capabilities, including CT and MRI as well as mammography and general radiology.
For More Information, Contact:
Barbara McCann
University Suburban Health Center
216-382-8920 (voice)
216-382-1684 (fax)
bsmccann@ushchealth.com