Beebe Medical Center to open walk-in clinic at Kmart June 30

People with nonemergency illnesses will soon be able to turn to a walk-in clinic when they don’t need a hospital emergency room and their family doctors are unavailable.

The Beebe Physicians Network is teaming up with Kmart to open a walk-in clinic at the retailer’s Coastal Highway location. Visits cost $99, and the clinic accepts many types of insurance.

The clinic will be staffed by nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants hired by the network, said Beebe spokesman Wallace Hudson. Initially, one healthcare provider will be on duty at the clinic, which has two exam rooms. The clinic can expand to two providers if it becomes necessary, he said.

A family physician, qualified in adult and pediatric medicine, will oversee the clinic, review all patient charts and occasionally see patients at the center, said Hudson. He said that’s a normal procedure for these types of walk-in clinics, to ensure midlevel medical providers don’t try to operate outside the scope of their allowed practice.

He stressed the clinic is for nonemergencies. “If you have a cut, go to the ER [emergency room]. If you have chest pains, call 911. If you believe your condition is life threatening, go to the emergency room,” said Hudson.

The clinic is meant to be an alternative to the emergency room for people with nonemergency illnesses and injuries, said Hudson. “It’s for the summer tourist who doesn’t want to spend hours in the emergency room for a sunburn or low fever,” he said. The clinic’s hours mean it’s open when most regular physicians’ offices are closed, said Hudson.

“Our biggest concern was: can we assure quality care can be provided? That was the No. 1 issue,” said Hudson.

He said he and physician network representatives have visited other, similar centers and met with the physicians who operate them. Through those meetings, he said, physician network officials were able to see how convenient-care clinics are typically run.

Clinic staff will notify patients’ family physicians of their visits and advise follow-up care as necessary, said Hudson.

Hudson said Beebe has operated a summer walk-in clinic in Millville for many years and received numerous requests for an all-year clinic. Hudson said he attended a national conference on convenient-care centers in 2007, at which time he met the business director of Sears Holdings, the Chicago-based owner of Kmart.

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No appointments needed at new clinic

The Beebe Health Center at Kmart will treat injuries and illnesses including upper-respiratory infections; ear and eye infections; sprains; gastrointestinal complaints; skin problems such as rashes, minor burns, ringworm and poison ivy.

Vaccines against flu, pneumonia and tetanus will also be offered at the clinic.

Clinic staff can refer those patients in need of more advanced care to Beebe Medical Center in Lewes or the Beebe Health Campus on Route 24.

No appointments are necessary.

The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday.