Brenda Heim was the Clinical Supervisor when the CCH Walk-in Clinic moved to their current location at Campbell County Memorial Hospital on January 14, 2013.
“I remember starting the move on Friday night, and it took all day Saturday and Sunday to make sure we were ready to see patients at 8:00 am on Monday morning,” said Brenda,. “We also had to learn a new workflow for lab and radiology orders since we were now located inside the hospital. It was definitely a team effort from everyone! The other big change from the move was going from 4 exam rooms to 15. We could now see more patients, and see them more efficiently in our new, larger space.”
The concept of an urgent care, or walk-in clinic at Campbell County Health isn’t new. The idea of creating this type of clinic began in 2007 when the Board of Trustees approved a plan to place a clinic for non-emergency care in the Medical Arts Building across the street from the hospital. The Walk-in Clinic opened there in spring 2008, seeing patients Thursday-Monday from 1- 9 pm. There were other urgent care clinics in the community at the time, but none had extended or weekend hours or a physician on site.
The Walk-in Clinic’s move to the main hospital building was part of the CCH expansion project completed in 2012. Along with the Walk-in Clinic, the $68 million construction and remodeling project included the parking garage, new Surgical Services area, improved main lobby and new ICU, Medical Surgical and Maternal Child units.
Moving into Campbell County Memorial Hospital gave the Walk-in Clinic more visibility, a bigger space with 15 exam rooms, a procedure room, and its close proximity to the Emergency department was beneficial when patients needed a higher level of care.
At the time, there were no physician offices open on weekends and evenings aside from the Emergency department.
“The Walk-in Clinic isn’t meant to be a substitute for a primary care provider,” said Brenda. “We fill a unique need for people by virtue of our hours and our other services. We can do sports physicals, drug screenings and take care of those urgent medical issues that need to be seen right away, such as acute illnesses and injuries.
“We’ve taken care of almost 260,000 patients in the last ten years, and I credit our success not only to our patients, but to all of the compassionate, hardworking, and dedicated staff here at the clinic,” said Brenda. “Our physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, medical assistants, occupational health techs, supervisors, and registration specialists take great pride in the care they give our patients. Many of them chose the Walk-in Clinic because of the opportunity to care for many different types of illnesses and injuries. I am so proud of our phenomenal, strong, and resilient team at the Walk-in Clinic on this 10-year anniversary.”
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