After-hours care on Dodson

A planned after-hours clinic at the Dodson Avenue Community Health Center hopefully will replicate the growing success of an urgent-care clinic for children at T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital, planners said.

“Taking off on the success and progress that we’ve made with the program at T.C. Thompson ... we’re getting ready to roll into the adult side,” said Joe Winick, senior vice president of planning and business development at Erlanger.

The T.C. Thompson clinic, established in December, is next to the children’s emergency department, so young patients who come to the ER without a true emergency can have a nearby alternative at night or on weekends, officials said.

The new clinic, scheduled to open in August, will focus on giving adults an after-hours option for their urgent or primary care needs.

The emergency department too often is used by patients who would be better treated by a primary care physician or another resource, said Bill Hicks, executive director of the Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers. He said some go to the emergency department for help with chronic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure that have gotten out of control because of poor maintenance.

Deborah Hale, operations manager at the Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers, said some patients show up with severe toothaches or abscesses from lack of proper dental hygiene.

Since its December opening, the T.C. Thompson clinic has treated 2,700 patients, Mr. Winick said. The clinic’s efforts to refer patients to primary care providers seems to be paying off in better health care practices, he said.

Eighty-seven percent of clinic patients, more than half of whom are on Georgia or Tennessee’s Medicaid program, have sought follow-up care with a primary care physician, he said.

In addition:

* 96 percent did not return to the emergency department within the next two weeks after a visit.

* 63 percent kept their follow-up appointments.

* 20 percent have revisited the T.C. Thompson clinic.

Both clinics are funded through a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in association with Volunteer State Health Plan, a BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee affiliate and managed care organization for TennCare enrollees.

Planners also have added a “community access facilitator” in Erlanger hospital’s emergency department who will work with patients who show up without a real emergency, Ms. Hale said. The facilitator will discuss primary care options with patients and can direct them to after-hours options such as the Dodson Avenue clinic.

“A big part of this is making sure that the consumer has an awareness of what health resources are available to them in the community,” Mr. Winick said.

Ultimately, the Dodson Avenue clinic will be open seven days a week, but initially it will be open Sunday, Monday and Wednesday nights, when the emergency department tends to be busiest, Ms. Hale said.