Mercy shifts site of respiratory clinic to increase patient capacity
As local hospitals look to evolve and rapidly address community need in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercy is shifting its respiratory clinic pilot site to MercyCare Marion at 3701 Katz Drive, effective Monday, March 30. This change in location allows Mercy to serve additional members of the community with increased capacity. As a result of this change in location, Mercy is no longer sending patients with respiratory illnesses to the Hiawatha location, where they were being seen last week.
“In anticipation of patient need in the weeks to come, Mercy physicians and staff developed the new clinic prototype at the Marion location over the weekend,” said Dr. Timothy Quinn, Mercy’s executive vice president and chief of clinic operations. “This new model will allow efficient deployment to additional sites, if needed. We will continue to evaluate community need and respond accordingly.”
Utilizing a respiratory-only clinic provides a centralized location to address the capacity for these types of patients and to safely direct them away from other clinics, limiting potential risk of exposure at other locations. Importantly, it also helps conserve important protective equipment.
How It Works:
All patients with respiratory illnesses, including suspected COVID-19, will be sent (with a physician referral only) to MercyCare Marion Urgent Care. The hours of this clinic are 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The phone number at MercyCare Marion Urgent Care is (319) 373-3022.
Primary care and urgent care patients needing appointments or testing for mild to moderate respiratory illness – such as a cough, difficulty breathing, fever and runny nose – should be directed by their medical provider to the respiratory illness-only site at MercyCare Marion Urgent Care. That site will only test for COVID-19 based on established criteria from the Iowa Department of Public Health.
Patients who seek care for non-respiratory symptoms at MercyCare Marion can be seen as a walk-in appointment with family practice, which is isolated from the respiratory clinic. Those patients can also be sent to MercyCare North Urgent Care.
Patients who do not have a primary care provider can call Mercy’s Find-A-Doc line at (319) 369-4444 or go online to schedule an urgent care video visit.
