Morgan Hill should have a new urgent care medical facility in
less than a year, filling a need city officials have long
considered a priority for local residents.
Morgan Hill
Morgan Hill should have a new urgent care medical facility in less than a year, filling a need city officials have long considered a priority for local residents.
Saint Louise Regional Hospital and the Morgan Hill Community Health Foundation have been working together on the hospital’s plan to open the new urgent care offices by January 2010, according to Joe Mueller of the MHCHF.
“Urgent care is a desired service we’ve been trying to get re-established in Morgan Hill for years,” Mueller said.
The new services are planned to be located at the DePaul Health Center medical offices building, at DePaul Drive near Cochrane Road and U.S. 101. DePaul Health Center is the former site of Saint Louise, which moved to Gilroy nearly 10 years ago.
An urgent care facility would treat injuries and illnesses that are not serious enough to require emergency room attention, such as colds, viruses, cuts, bruises and minor muscle injuries, Mueller explained. Currently, the only place to receive such care after business hours and on weekends, when it is most needed, is at the hospital emergency room. Part of the planning process for the new urgent care office, which would essentially be an “out patient service” owned by Saint Louise, is to determine a way to keep it open at those times, Mueller said.
“It would be better for Morgan Hill if we have some place to go when we have a non-emergency after doctor’s office hours,” he said.
The new offices would also add new medical staff positions in Morgan Hill, but Mueller did not yet know how many.
City officials and members of the community became concerned about the lack of local medical services when Saint Louise moved from Morgan Hill. The MHCHF was formed shortly after that move, and the city funded the nonprofit organization with $500,000 to assist in securing the return of health care options that used to be here.
The city’s stated objectives for medical services include attracting more doctors back to Morgan Hill, and opening an urgent care facility, obstetrical and gynecology services, and other medical services such as laboratories, nursing and radiology.
Mueller said the opening of an urgent care service would be a “first step” in meeting the medical care demands of local residents.
He presented an update on the MHCHF’s efforts at a city council meeting last week, and City Manager Ed Tewes said the urgent care plan “sounds like it meets one of the council’s objectives.”
Medical offices have moved into DePaul Health Center since Saint Louise left, with room remaining for more. Offices currently open there include a medical laboratory for Saint Louise, radiology, bone density testing, cardiologists, pediatricians and other specialists, Mueller said.
Saint Louise still owns and manages DePaul Health Center.
In a series of upcoming focus group meetings, hospital officials will seek input from the community about the medical care needs of Morgan Hill, according to Saint Louise Regional Hospital spokeswoman Jasmine Nguyen.
Two meetings for the general public will take place at 6 p.m. June 3 and June 4, at the Morgan Hill Community Cultural Center.
Nguyen said the urgent care facility is part of an ongoing plan to expand Saint Louise’s services into Morgan Hill. The focus group meetings are part of the hospital’s outreach effort to ensure all the potential stakeholders – the public at large, city officials, and business leaders – get a chance to submit input regarding the plans.
The MHCHF is working closely with the hospital on the urgent care and future plans, and Mueller said the foundation “may provide financial support,” though he declined to discuss potential costs. He added the hospital is still working on other details such as what patients would be eligible for service at the urgent care site.
