Urgent-care clinic to open
Downvalley care center will be near airport
 
 Daily staff report
 NEWSROOM@VAILDAILY.COM 
  EAGLE COUNTY — Downvalley resi­dents will soon have an emergency-care clinic closer to home, Vail Valley Medical Center officials announced Tuesday.   The hospital plans to open a new urgent­and emergency-care clinic near the Eagle County Regional Airport to serve Eagle, Gypsum, Dotsero, rural Eagle County and travelers. The facility will be on hospital­ owned space in the Clocktower building in the Airport Gateway commercial park on McGreggor Drive.

“( The clinic) will serve the community with everything from receiving emergency ambulance transports when appropriate to caring for a full spectrum of health issues, including sore throats and earaches as well as broken bones and stitches,” said Dr. Chip Woodland, the hospital’s chief medical offi­cer. “It will be an immediate improvement to health care access in Eagle County.”

The hospital decided to open the new facility based on recommendations from Reach Advisors, a marketing research firm, said hospital CEO John Cassin. Community response showed that convenience in health care is a big priority for families, he said.   The facility, which is slated to be open in early 2010, will be a Level 5 trauma center, meaning it can receive ambulances and treat trauma cases but is not open 24 hours a day. It will have six exam rooms and two trauma areas in 6,000 square feet of space.   The facility will be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. The cost is roughly $2.2 million for construction and equipment. The construction will be put to bid.  Chris Montera, chief of the Western Eagle County Ambulance District, said the loca­tion of the clinic will be convenient for the ambulance district as well as area residents. “It will be a benefit for us to keep our ambulance crews in the area and provide quick transport for patients requiring emer­gency care,” he said.

‘(THE CLINIC) WILL SERVE THE COMMUNITY WITH EVERYTHING FROM RECEIVING EMERGENCY AMBULANCE TRANSPORTS WHEN APPROPRIATE TO CARING FOR A FULL SPECTRUM OF HEALTH ISSUES.’
Dr. Chip Woodland
Chief medical officer
 
 

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