COOKEVILLE – Patients who want more immediate access to health care services have a new option in the Cookeville market.
Reliable Healthcare Clinic opened April 1 at 135 W. Third St., just a block away from Cookeville Regional Medical Center (CRMC). The clinic offers a full range of primary care and urgent care services for men, women and children – either by walk-in or appointment – all with a focus on being fast and friendly.
It’s staffed by Susie Dyer, a certified physician’s assistant (PA), and Lisa Wilder, a nurse practitioner (NP), each with eight years experience or more in emergency room, primary care and urgent care settings.
“We both had a vision for how we wanted our patients to be treated – with courtesy and respect and compassionate care,” Dyer said. “You’re more than just a number; we get to know our patients.
“We offer a vast array of services,” she added. “We do a lot of primary care – blood pressure, diabetes (management). Physicals. We do well child exams for babies and their immunizations. We’re accepting work(ers) comp. Or we accept walk-ins for sick visits like sinus infections or allergies.”
Nationally, primary care and urgent care clinics, like Reliable Healthcare, are becoming increasingly common, and there’s a number of factors that have contributed to their growth, namely ER capacity concerns, primary care physician shortages and rising health care costs. At last estimate, there were more than 9,300 walk-in, stand-alone urgent care centers in the United States, according to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine, and 50-100 new clinics open every year.
Dyer said Reliable Healthcare can cater to patients who may be without a primary care doctor. And with a more desirable wait time.
“There’s several (physicians who) had larger practices that have recently left, and their patients are looking for new primary care homes,” Dyer said. “We definitely think there’s a demand for urgent care. So many patients coming in say they couldn’t get in to their primary care doctor, especially with kids. We are open on Saturday, also, just for that reason.”
The clinic, open 8 a.m.-noon on Saturdays, is also open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.
For more information, visit http://reliablehealthcareclinic.com or call (931) 526-2488.
