Morgan Hill residents who become sick and are unable to see a
doctor until after work, or suffer minor injuries on the weekends,
now have a place to receive care.
Morgan Hill residents who become sick and are unable to see a doctor until after work, or suffer minor injuries on the weekends, now have a place to receive care.
The DePaul Urgent Care Center opened Monday just off Cochrane Road, across the street from the Target shopping center.
The new facility provides emergency-trained staff to see cases that are not life threatening, according to Saint Louise Regional Hospital spokeswoman Jasmine Nguyen. It will be open when regular doctors’ offices are closed, thus minimizing the need for patients to travel farther for treatment of minor illnesses and pain.
“Currently Morgan Hill does not have any urgent healthcare facilities that residents or employers can go to,” Nguyen said. “We look forward to providing these services to the community.”
Instead of using the emergency room for treatment that can be acquired at the urgent care center, patients will likely have shorter wait times and pay less for services at the Morgan Hill facility, Nguyen said.
The facility is located at the DePaul Health Center medical offices building at DePaul Drive near Cochrane Road and U.S. 101. The DePaul Health Center is formerly the site of Saint Louise Regional Hospital, which moved to Gilroy more than 10 years ago. Saint Louise is owned by Daughters of Charity Health Systems.
Shortly after the hospital moved south, an independently owned urgent care on Tennant Avenue closed, leaving Morgan Hill without urgent or emergency care at all, Planning Commissioner and Morgan Hill Community Health Foundation board member Joe Mueller said.
Since that time, the hospital and the foundation have worked on opening a new facility that treats patients or sudden ailments on weekends or after normal workday hours.
The DePaul Urgent Care Center will be open from 3 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
“This is a very important new service to the citizens of Morgan Hill,” Mueller noted. “It will have opening times that are off primary doctor’s hours. Now evening and weekend medical services will be available to the community for the first time in seven or eight years.”
Although patients suffering serious emergencies should go to the emergency room or call 911, the staff at the Urgent Care Center will consist of an emergency-trained doctors and nurses, plus a radiology technician. Services are offered by appointment or on a walk-in basis.
Most healthcare insurance will be accepted at the DePaul Urgent Care Center. Nguyen said residents should check with their insurance providers to determine what services and treatment options are covered.
The $900,000 cost of opening the facility was paid for through the Daughters of Charity’s operations fund, with assistance from the health foundation.
