New Clinical Care at VVRMC Lowers Wait Times and Ups Affordability

Val Verde Regional Medical Center now offers clinical care from the Emergency Room lobby. Dubbed the Convenient Care Clinic, it provides care specifically for non-emergency needs --- like a cold or sprained ankle --- and avoids those notoriously high ER bills.

According to VVRMC CEO Jorge Jurado, the clinic is best for "[ailments] that don't require an ER visit, but you still need care quickly," said to KWMC at the clinic's ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

Emergency Room visits can cost thousands of dollars because they are equipped for critical situations and employ 24/7 staff, resulting in higher costs to patients. Clinical care typically sets one back only hundreds of dollars, or less, due to lower operational costs. Jurado says this translation into affordability for patients was one of VVRMC's primary goals with the Convenient Care Clinic.

"That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to make an option for our community that is affordable. A lot of times people come into the ER because there's no other option if it's 7 o'clock at night."

Operating between 10AM and 10PM daily, the Clinic will provide care late into the evening. "This gives community members an option to get care after-hours every day of the week. You don't get to choose when you get sick [or injured]," says Jurado.

Located at 801 N Bedell Avenue, VVRMC is the region's primary healthcare provider and is a not-for-profit hospital accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality.