| SPRINGFIELD — Mercy Medical Center has announced the opening of its new Pediatric Urgent Care Center, which began offering weekend and after-hours services on Nov. 20.
The center is located beside Mercy’s recently renovated emergency department. It offers newly constructed waiting facilities that are separate from other emergencies, along with easy access to the hospital’s laboratory and radiology services.
“We feel this is a much-needed service for after-hours urgent care that will be provided in an efficient and timely manner,” said Dr. Teresa Mitchell, pediatric director of Mercy’s Family Life Center for Maternity. “The main idea is to help relieve some of the pressure on local pediatricians and to give patients a much-needed alternative to emergency room visits that can include long waits.”
Mitchell expects the majority of visits to be prompted by problems such as ear infections, sore throats, high fevers, asthma, dehydration, and other urgent problems that are best treated by pediatricians.
“Our triage guidelines will identify cases that require emergency room care,” said Dr. Henri Lamothe, director of the Mercy Pediatric Urgent Care Group. “Very ill patients will have direct access to emergency room services.”
The center is staffed by board-certified pediatricians and seasoned pediatric nurses. To date, the staff includes Drs. Magdelena Czerkawska, Maria de Lourdes Hill, David Harvey, Maria Moutinho, Michael D’Allesandro, Talya Leopold, Kathleen Viamari, Sara Mullan, Paul Salva, Jeannette Tokarz, Consuelo LeBlanc, Maria Ethel Evales, and Teresa Mitchell.
The center’s hours are Monday through Friday, 6 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 3 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 11 p.m. The contact number is (413) 748-7334. |
