Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio and NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz yesterday marked the official opening of the public health system’s new ExpressCare clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, 79-01 Broadway in Elmhurst
The clinic is one of three new urgent care centers that will provide faster access to medical care for patients who face non-life-threatening conditions. The urgent care clinics will be open for select hours year-round, 7 days a week and will ease overcrowding in three public hospital emergency rooms, as well as reduce health care costs by giving patients a faster and more appropriate alternative to expensive and often avoidable emergency room visits.
“Every New Yorker has the right to receive great medical treatment, without waiting hours to be seen by a doctor,” said de Blasio. “The opening of our ExpressCare clinics will help residents get faster treatment for less serious symptoms while connecting them with follow-up care in the long term.”
NYC Health + Hospitals is investing between $1.5 and $2 million to set up each of the three new ExpressCare clinics inside the hospital buildings and within a short distance from the emergency rooms.
The urgent care clinics will be open year-round, 7 days a week, from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. These are among the busiest times for each of the hospital’s emergency departments and are hours when patients are more likely to visit the emergency room because they cannot access a primary care provider.
ExpressCare clinics are designed for adult patients. Children and teens will continue to receive care in the pediatric emergency room, which typically has short wait times comparable to waits in ExpressCare.
“As more and more families move into western Queens, the need for additional healthcare services in the area has grown exponentially. The new ExpressCare clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst will offer Queens residents timely, quality care 7 days a week while reducing wait times in our often crowded hospital emergency rooms,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “Thank you to Mayor de Blasio and NYC Health + Hospitals for addressing the need for these services in Queens.”
“I am grateful that NYC Health + Hospitals opened its first ExpressCare clinic in Queens at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. These new clinics will reduce waiting times and healthcare costs while providing quality care to patients,” said Assembly Member David I. Weprin.
“The ExpressCare Clinic at Elmhurst Hospital will provide patients with even faster access to expert medical care and I am so happy that my district is one of the first to offer this service,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm.
“This ExpressCare clinic will take some of the burden off of western Queens, where the number of emergency rooms does not reflect the population boom,” said Council Member Costa Constantinides. “This Elmhurst facility will provide our residents with a late-afternoon and evening option to get medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. While we still need greater emergency room availability in this part of the borough, this is a big step in getting the people of western Queens quality medical help.”
“The uptick in urgent care centers citywide is promising, as it alleviates some of the congestion we see in city hospitals. I’m extremely pleased to see the NYC Health + Hospitals opening its first ExpressCare clinic, and hope for many more to come,” said Council Member Robert Holden.
“Emergency rooms should not be waiting rooms,” said Council Member Francisco Moya. “The addition of the city’s first ExpressCare Clinic to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst—already home to one of the city’s busiest trauma centers—will allow the hospital to provide better, more responsive care. This is a tremendous service for our community and for Queens.”
ExpressCare clinics will accept most insurance plans; walk-ins are welcome and no appointments are needed. Patients without insurance will be offered financial counseling to help them apply for insurance or direct them to the health system’s reduced fee-scale payment program. Patients visiting ExpressCare clinics who are assessed as having serious medical conditions that cannot be properly addressed in that setting will be fast-tracked to the Emergency Department for treatment.
To learn more about ExpressCare clinics or to make an appointment with a primary care physician or other specialists at NYC Health + Hospitals, call 1-844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).
