“COME SEE WHAT WE’VE BUILT”
DRISCOLL EXPANDING SOUTHSIDE CHILDREN’S SERVICES: AFTER-HOURS & WEEKEND URGENT CARE CENTER
TO OPEN FOR MINOR EMERGENCIES & ILLNESSES

Driscoll Children’s Urgent Care Grand Opening
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
11 a.m.
5945 Saratoga Blvd. ? Corpus Christi, TX
(in the new Driscoll Children’s South Plaza)

Tours following grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony.

(Corpus Christi, TX) Driscoll Children’s Hospital will hold a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 at 11 a.m. for the new Driscoll Children’s Urgent Care, an outpatient service facility that will handle after-hours and weekend minor emergencies and illnesses. The new facility will be the only urgent care center in Nueces County caring exclusively for the pediatric population and is located in the new Driscoll Children’s South Plaza.

Currently, Driscoll Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Department cares for more than 40,000 patients annually, the majority of which are considered less acute or non-life threatening. Upon opening the new facility, hospital officials estimate that Driscoll Children’s Urgent Care could potentially see 22,000 to 25,000 patient visits per year, reducing the hospital’s Emergency Department’s patient numbers, especially during peak volume times. This would allow for quicker turnaround times and more in-depth, one-on-one care at both facilities.

“With the opening of the new facility, Driscoll will continue to better serve the community, especially the Southside which is growing by leaps and bounds,” says Rick Merrill, CEO and President of Driscoll Children’s Hospital. “When visiting the Urgent Care center for minor emergencies instead of the hospital’s Emergency Department, patients will experience convenience, as well as less expensive care.”

The freestanding, one-story, 23,000-square-foot facility will care for pediatric patients. The Urgent Care Center occupies 10,000 square feet of the center and will care for minor pediatric emergencies and illnesses including lacerations, flu, asthma, running noses, chicken pox, shingles, rashes, as well as minor fractures and sprains. Hours of Driscoll Children’s Urgent Care will include 5 p.m. through 11 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. through 11 p.m. on weekends. Only open during non-office hours, the facility will not compete with local pediatrician’s offices.

In addition to five exam rooms and one procedure room, the facility will host a 250-square-foot pediatric laboratory with on-site analysis including complete blood count (CBC), chemistry panels, and urinalysis. All complex lab analysis will be referred to the hospital’s main campus. Officials expect 75% of its urgent care patients to require lab work. An 800-square-foot area will allow for radiology services. A physician review station will be available for initial reviews, but Driscoll pediatric radiologists will read and diagnose the images via the Picturing Archiving and Communication System (PACS system), a filmless radiological environment, networked with the hospital’s main campus. Officials expect 50% of urgent care patients to require x-rays. 1,450-square-feet have been earmarked for the reception area, check-in, and expansion space.

Driscoll Children’s Hospital will contract with Coastal Bend Emergency Services to staff the facility, just as they do with their current Emergency Department. The facility hosts one to two physicians at a time in addition to one nurse practitioner, two full-time office staff, and four to five clinical staff specially trained in caring for children. Some clinical staff will be cross-trained to reduce the total number of staff needed for the facility on a daily basis.

Currently, there are six urgent care centers operating in the Corpus and the Calallen area, with one being located on Saratoga Drive. Most advertise comprehensive family services, but none specialize in full-scale pediatric services. In addition, two adult hospitals are also located in the Southside area.

The remaining area will host medical office space available for lease for local pediatricians and pediatric subspecialitsts. Driscoll officials expect five to seven physicians to occupy the new space and service 33,000 patients annually. The Driscoll Foundation donated the 12 acres of land for the facility.

About Driscoll Children’s Hospital
“Improve the health of adults and you give them back their health …
Improve the health of children and you give them their life.”

Since opening its doors in 1953, Driscoll Children’s Hospital has been offering hope and healing to the children of South Texas for half a century. The facility is a 189-bed pediatric tertiary care center with pediatric board-certified specialists representing 19 medical and nine surgical specialties. Each year, more than 6,000 children are admitted for inpatient care, 5,000 for day surgery, and 50,000 for outpatient primary and specialty care, as well as 40,000 for emergency care, as the first South Texas hospital with emergency services exclusively for children. Additionally, Driscoll maintains a state-of-the-art ground/air transport team, 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit, 40-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and specialized medical outreach.

www.driscollchildrens.org

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