One of the most dangerous aspects of COVID-19 is the way that, at its height, it overwhelmed the medical system. Virtually overnight, injured and sick Americans found their emergency room wait times lengthening to the tens of hours. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 130 million emergency room visits yearly in the United States, and only 16.2 million of those visits result in hospital admission. This means that the majority of emergency room visits are for non-emergency situations—situations that may be better addressed elsewhere.
Enter Piedmont Urgent Care! Piedmont Urgent Care opened mid-April in the Hugh Howell Marketplace near Publix. Piedmont Urgent Care by Wellstreet runs 36 locations in and around Atlanta. The Tucker location is the newest addition to a collection of facilities boasting services for all kinds of non-emergency medical scenarios.
“We look for communities that have a need for urgent care, and then we strive to meet that need,” says Dr. Cassandra Donnelly, Regional Medical Director for the parent company of Piedmont Urgent Care.
Dr. Donnelly has been with the company for nine years. She began as an associate physician and moved on to a position as a site director before her current role.
“I’m really happy to have seen the company grow, and I’m happy to have grown alongside it,” she says.“Everyone has choices in healthcare, and we want to be one of those choices. We hope we can show you, when you come to us, that we will be your only choice for your future needs.”
Urgent care, occupational medicine, sports physicals, and vaccinations are all services provided by Piedmont Urgent Care, making them well-equipped to meet a variety of needs. However, Piedmont Urgent Care’s most timely offerings may be their 15-minute Rapid Antigen tests and 2-hour PCR tests. If COVID-19 is a major concern, then Piedmont Urgent Care is as prepared as can be.
A tour of the building quickly shows just how prepared Piedmont Urgent Care really is. The new facility is as clean and well-lit as one may expect, and hand sanitizing dispensers are spaced conveniently around the walkways. A peek into their exam rooms reveals air filtration systems and well-stocked stations for personal protective equipment as well as other essential tools of the trade—cotton balls, tongue depressors, swabs, and the like.
“We’re really happy to open Piedmont Urgent Care in the City of Tucker,” says Dr. Donnelly.
Piedmont Urgent Care is located at 4650 Hugh Howell Rd, Suite 510. You can find them online at www.wellstreet.com/piedmont.
