Express Care Shifts to MedStar Health Urgent Care Aug. 8

Charlotte Hall and New Waldorf Offices Will Offer Extended Hours

MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital’s Express Care will transition to MedStar Health Urgent Care on Aug. 8. According to Jim Craver, chief operating officer of MedStar Health Urgent Care, the changeover is a natural extension of MedStar Health’s systemness approach to healthcare distribution. “Because Express Care is an urgent care facility, it is only natural its operations move to MedStar Health Urgent Care,” Jim said.

For the most part, it will be “business as usual” at the Charlotte Hall location, according to Jim, and most changes will go unnoticed by patients visiting the site. Operations for the facility will now be directed by MedStar Health Urgent Care policies and procedures; building and office signage will be changed to reflect the new name. “MedStar Health Urgent Care is excited to be bringing expanded healthcare services to northern St. Mary’s County and Charles County,” said Jim.

Associates working in the office have been given the opportunity to transfer employment from the hospital to MedStar Health Urgent Care. “When we began planning for this, we fully expected to transition 100 percent of associates to MedStar Health Urgent Care,” said Jim. Associates who did not want to move to MedStar Health Urgent Care were offered the opportunity to remain with MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in comparable positions.

Perhaps the biggest change that will impact the community is the extension of operating hours for the facility. The Charlotte Hall MedStar Health Urgent Care has plans to extend its hours in the future. The new hours will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Call-ahead appointments will also continue to be offered and imaging and laboratory screenings will remain onsite.

“Bringing MedStar Health Urgent Care to the community offers great benefits for our patients and our hospital,” said Stephen Michaels, MD, chief operating officer and chief medical officer of MedStar St. Mary’s. “PromptCare will give patients greater access to primary care in our community, which will hopefully translate to decreased volumes in our Emergency Department and greater patient satisfaction.”

Waldorf PromptCare Opening

In addition to the Charlotte Hall transition, a new MedStar Health Urgent Care office will be opening in Waldorf on Aug. 9, 2016. Located at 3064 Waldorf Market Place, the office will share space with a new MedStar Health primary care office. The facility will have two entrances; however, some of the back office areas will be shared space. The Waldorf office will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.