Loyola Medicine

MAYWOOD, Ill. - The Loyola Center for Health at Homer Glen is expanding its advanced specialty care in the Homer Glen/Lockport area with the addition of immediate care services for people with non-critical illnesses and injuries that require quick medical treatment. "The Immediate Care Center will close a huge gap in the available medical services in the rapidly growing Homer Glen and Lockport areas," said Dr. Paul K. Whelton, MSc, president & CEO, Loyola University Health System. "Southwest suburban families will now have faster access to care in those instances when their regular doctor's office is closed and the health problem isn't an immediate threat to their lives." The Immediate Care Center is located in the Loyola Center for Health at Homer Glen, 15750 Marian Drive, on the Marian Village campus. Many of the specialty services for which Loyola University Health System has earned a national reputation are offered there, including neurology, cardiology, hematology/oncology, maternal-fetal medicine, pain treatment, radiology, internal medicine, gastroenterology, neurology, physical rehabilitation (adult and pediatric), plastic surgery and geriatrics. Dr. Anne Li, medical director of the Immediate Care Center, said beyond giving patients greater flexibility in seeing a physician, the facility, which will have a full-time staff bolstered by support from Loyola's vast pool of medical specialists, will also offer significant savings in cost and time. "It's so much cheaper going to immediate care because patients are charged for a clinic visit, not an emergency room visit," said Li, a family practitioner with extensive experience in emergency and immediate care medicine. "Immediate care is also much quicker because you won't be in a room full of people waiting. Nationally, the average waiting time for immediate care is about 30 minutes versus four hours in an emergency room." With the nearest immediate care facilities more than nine miles away, down busy roads in Joliet and Palos Heights, the Immediate Care Center will be the most convenient alternative for residents when it opens on June 4. It will offer walk-in care for health problems such as colds, flu, allergies, mild to moderate asthma, fever, sprains, fractures, minor burns and lacerations. The Immediate Care Center will also offer services not available in many primary care physicians' offices, such as radiology facilities for the diagnosis of minor fractures and minor procedure rooms for the treatment of lacerations and cuts. No appointment will be necessary for immediate care. Patients lacking a primary care physician will be able to get a referral to one at Loyola. "The treatment patients will receive at the Immediate Care Center will introduce them to some of the services Loyola University Health System offers and familiarize them with our brand of whole-patient care," said Dr. Elizabeth Frye, senior vice president, medical director of ambulatory programs. "Other providers are setting up practices in Homer Glen, but we think that the strength of the Loyola name and our medical capabilities will give us an advantage." The Immediate Care Center is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. The center's telephone number is (708) 645-3500.