It's the first of its kind in Michiana and it could save you time and money. A Granger urgent care facility just expanded its schedule to 24 hours a day. Med-Point in Granger is now Med-Point24. It now offers service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"I think this could be a start of something new. We are the first to do it," says John Jenkins, Practice Manager.
Jenkins expects this health care trend to take off soon, since it saves patients time and money. For example, the average co-pay at the emergency room is about 200 dollars. A trip to urgent care will cost about fifty dollars. He says it also benefits area hospitals.
"Our goal is to capture patients that can be seen in urgent care in town and relive some pressure on both of the E-R's in town," says Jenkins.
"The more options, the better, especially with health care," says Jeffrey Stoneburner, South Bend paramedic captain.
Stoneburner says expanding the hours at an urgent care adds value to the community and can save everyone more time.
Memorial Health System wants to stress if you have a serious medical emergency, you still need to go to the Emergency Room. If you have an injury or sickness, urgent care is the place to go.
If you go to urgent care and your situation gets worse, Med-point24 has a plan in place. They will contact the fire department and they will then transport patients to the Emergency Room.
St. Joseph Regional Medical Center says Med-Point24 hours will not affect their emergency room traffic.
