Addressing the long desired need for “urgicare” on the East Bank, St. Charles Urgent Care will open Feb. 1 as the first tenant of the nearly completed Plantation View Medical Offices in Destrehan.
“We’re urgent care,” said Dr. Adam Arcement representing the partner group opening its second practice. Their first practice, Lafourche Urgent Care, is in Raceland. “We’re not replacing the ER or your primary doctor, but we serve the gap between your primary care doctor and emergency room.”Arcement said they chose Destrehan for the practice because there was a need and the space was available.
“The residents on the East Bank of St. Charles Parish wanted urgicare services,” he said.
Anthony DiGerolamo, chief executive officer of St. Charles Parish Hospital, said they “are extremely excited to offer [Plantation View Medical Offices] to our community in the near future. It will provide greater access to quality healthcare for residents throughout St. Charles Parish and will fill a critical need in this region. It will be a facility the entire community can take great pride in.” Arcement said the physician-owned practice becoming the building’s first tenant is focused on providing quality care in an efficient and timely manner.
“Convenience,” he said of their mission to serve the patient. “You’re in and out under 60 minutes if possible.”Depending on patient volume, care time could be as little as 30 minutes, Arcement added. A patient has the option to visit the St. Charles Urgent Care website or Facebook (available soon), to see available visit times and set a target time, which gives that person first preference to see a doctor in case of a walk-in.
State-of-the-art electronic health records in accordance with latest government regulations and patient privacy standards are added features of the center. This latest technology allows certified radiologists to read x-rays in real time, which means getting results typically in 20 to 30 minutes.
“The goal is to see you pretty much right away, get you in and treated within an hour,” Arcement said.
St. Charles Urgent Care will be open seven days a week 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., offering extended hours beyond the typical primary care doctor’s office. Walk-ins are welcome.
An additional convenience, Arcement said Ochsner also will open a pharmacy in the adjacent suite.
Collectively, Arcement said he and his partners bring more than 40 years of emergency room experience to the practice.
“We don’t want to replace your primary doctor,” he said. “We want your primary doctor to send you to us when he or she can’t see you and we refer you back to your primary doctor to continue care. We fill that gap. We’ve gotten a good response from that. The Raceland practice has shown this relationship works effectively for the patient.”
For those without insurance, the center will accept discounted cash pay rates.
Arcement said “urgent care” focuses on filling a gap, the area between care provided at emergency rooms and primary care, such as IV therapies, x-rays or splint fractures. A patient with chest pains or stroke-like symptoms will be referred to the closest emergency room, which will be St. Charles Hospital in St. Charles Parish.
“We also treat Worker’s Compensation injuries,” he said “We do some occupational medical services, including pre-employment drug screenings and employment exams, as well as sports physicals.”
The practice accepts all major insurances, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Conventry, Ochsner Humana and Tricare Standard. Medicaid is not accepted at this time.
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