In preparation for the March 31 closure of the Mid City emergency room at Baton Rouge General Medical Center, LSU Health Baton Rouge began offering extended hours on Monday at its MidCity Urgent Care Clinic at 1401 North Foster Drive—and so far patient usage has nearly doubled.
In its first day of operating from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., the clinic treated 44 patients, more than twice the 20 or so it had been averaging, according to Kelly Zimmerman, a spokeswoman for Our Lady of the Lady Regional Medical Center, which owns the clinics and runs them through its partnership with LSU Health. The clinic previously operated from 3 to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
Another urgent care clinic—the LSU Health Baton Rouge North Clinic at 5439 Airline Highway, which is open 24 hours a day—also experienced an increase in patient volume Monday of about 10%.
Officials at Our Lady of the Lake attribute the increased patient volume to community outreach efforts. In the weeks since Baton Rouge General announced plans to close its Mid City ER, community leaders and other health care providers have been urging the low-income and indigent patients who sought primary care treatment in the ER to instead seek care at urgent care clinics.
“We believe this neighborhood care clinic model provides patients with the most appropriate care in the most appropriate setting, and we are pleased to see our community embracing this care option,” says Laura Davis, administrator, LSU Health Baton Rouge, OLOL. “We appreciate everyone’s support.”
Baton Rouge General announced plans to close the ER in early February, citing mounting losses of some $2 million per month, the result of treating thousands of uninsured and underinsured patients.
Read the current Business Report cover story, which focuses on the Mid City ER closure.
—Stephanie Riegel
