Mercy Health Expands Rural Health Care Access in the Valley
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mercy Health is expanding access to rural health care in the Mahoning Valley.
Walk-in care and virtual specialty care are now available at Mercy Health East Palestine Primary Care, and virtual specialty care is available at Mercy Health Sebring Primary Care.
“Mercy Health continues to respond and adapt to the ever-changing health care needs of the Mahoning Valley through new, enhanced points of care,” said Dr. Jim Kravec, chief clinical officer for Mercy Health Youngstown and Lorain. “We know access to care close to home can significantly impact health outcomes for patients, which is why we’re expanding access in our rural communities.”
East Palestine Primary Care is seeing walk-in patients from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This is Mercy Health’s ninth walk-in care location in the Mahoning Valley.
Through the new virtual specialty care clinics at East Palestine Primary Care and Sebring Primary Care, patients can have virtual appointments with their specialty care providers from the comfort of their primary care practices. Right now, the virtual specialty clinic appointments are available to oncology and cardiology patients.
Each location has specific rooms that are equipped with virtual conferencing technology to allow patients to interact with their specialty provider while having a medical assistant on-site. If blood work or other testing is necessary, it can be done at the primary care office.
“Our virtual specialty clinics allow a patient’s primary care physician to provide even more comprehensive, patient-centered care, while also giving patients more convenient access to specialty care close to home,” said Missy Russo, chief operating officer for Mercy Health Physicians Youngstown. “These clinics give patients who may have limited or no internet connectivity an opportunity to access virtual specialty appointments, and it keeps patients, especially those who may be more vulnerable, from having to make long, unnecessary trips to the hospital.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
