(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Creekside Family Health Clinic has announced that it will expand weekday and weekend hours beginning Saturday, January 14th. In an effort to provide needed services at more convenient times, the clinic will now stay open from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturdays. In addition, clinic staff will maintain an on-call line Sundays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm allowing patients to speak with a medical professional and make Sunday appointments if necessary.

The change in hours is being offered to meet the needs of patients for appropriately scaled services outside of regularly work hours. "We often hear from patients that it can be difficult to leave work or school for health appointments," said clinic owner and Nurse Practitioner, Lani Hill, FNP-BC. "Hopefully this change will make it easier for people to schedule medical appointments at times that work better for them."

Creekside Family Health Clinic underwent a major expansion in May 2011. It added two new exam rooms and four additional Nurse Practitioners to the medical staff allowing the clinic to accommodate same day appointments and walk-in care.

"Our goal has always been to get patients in as quickly as possible. It's just that we have never had enough hours to always pull it off," said John Hill, the clinic's Business Manager. Hill pointed out that the same day approach has a number of benefits. Prompt medical attention can decrease the severity of the illness, decrease lost time from work, and decrease costs to the patients and their insurance. "A same day approach can decrease health care costs for everyone over the long term," said Hill.

The clinic, which is located in downtown Ketchikan at 320 Bawden Street in the Mary Frances building, provides primary health care as well as treatment of minor injuries and illnesses that need to be seen right away. In addition, the clinic staff provide work, sports, and school physicals; workers compensation exams; women's health prescriptions, immunizations and vaccines; diabetes care; and treatment of skin and nail conditions among other routine care.

The clinic also offers walk-in lab services without a medical visit or appointment.

Source of News: 

Creekside Family Health Clinic
creeksidehealth.com/

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