Press release from Mercy Urgent Care:
Mercy Urgent Care is pleased to announce its newest location, in Columbus, N.C., expected to open in the Spring of 2019. For residents and visitors of Polk County and the surrounding area, this new facility means that high-quality, affordable and convenient medical care for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries will be just minutes away. Patients in Polk County will now have access to walk-in care at a fraction of the cost of an emergency room visit.
“We look forward to serving the people in this area with greater access to healthcare. Polk County has a documented shortage of primary care providers and very limited access to any retail walk-in acute care services. There is very limited, if any, weekend and after-hours healthcare besides hospital emergency rooms in the entire tri-city area of Columbus, Tryon, and Landrum, S.C.,” says Tim Johnston, Mercy Urgent Care Chief Executive Officer. “Growth is also anticipated with the continued development of the Tryon International Equestrian Center, which further increases the need for healthcare access for non-resident visitors.”
Mercy Urgent Care has moved forward with the development of the new location at a multi-tenant retail site — a project of developer Greg Edney with construction by Abbott Construction — which has been approved for this use by the Town of Columbus and Polk County government.
Mercy Urgent Care Columbus, on Highway 108 less than ¼ of a mile from Exit 67 off of Interstate 26 and in a parcel adjacent to Entegra Bank, will be the seventh Western North Carolina location for the nonprofit organization which is headquartered in Asheville.
In addition to services for individuals and families, Mercy Urgent Care Columbus will offer workplace-related healthcare services through its Mercy Occupational Medicine division. Employers in or near Polk County can take advantage of a wide array services, from workplace screening and testing to workplace incident management. Mercy Occupational Medicine offers board-certified physicians and licensed, highly-trained personnel to meet the needs of businesses and their employees.
Known for its compassionate and affordable care, Mercy helps your family, friends and neighbors recover from injury and illness and get back to a healthy life. A committed community partner in the areas it serves, Mercy is a certified North Carolina Best Employer and a proud living wage employer.
Supporting the residents and visitors of Western North Carolina is a top priority, and to do this effectively, Mercy Urgent Care, as an independent provider, accepts most major insurances including Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina; offers a self-pay option for those without insurance, with simple, tiered “fee for service” pricing; and has a Compassionate Care financial assistance program for qualifying patients.
Mercy Urgent Care was founded in Asheville in 1985 as an outreach of the Sisters of Mercy, an international religious institute of Roman Catholic women, begun in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland. Committed to sacredness of life, human dignity, mercy, justice, service and excellence, Mercy Urgent Care believes everyone should have access to convenient, affordable and high-quality healthcare. The Sisters of Mercy have served WNC since 1900, operating the former St. Joseph’s Hospital for nearly 100 years before its sale to Mission in 1998.
Mercy Urgent Care has served more than one million patients in Western North Carolina. Donations to not-for-profit Mercy Urgent Care’s Catherine McAuley Mercy Foundation enable care throughout WNC in Brevard, Burnsville, Weaverville, three Asheville locations, and soon Columbus – providing more than a half-million dollars in charity care locally as well as sending medical teams and supplies internationally. More information about the organization and all locations can be found at www.mercyurgentcare.org.
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