Saltzer Health clinic on Ten Mile in Meridian to help relieve burden on emergency rooms

MERIDIAN, Idaho (CBS2) — Treatment at local urgent care facilities is evolving.

A Saltzer Health Clinic on Ten Mile in Meridian, which opened in December 2021, is now offering service 24-7 with the hope of relieving the burden on emergency rooms.

"Because of our expanded scope of practice, the imaging we are able to do, we've actually been able to catch a lot of appendicitis," said Jonathan Subaitani, lead physician assistant.

Subaitani says the new facility is a win-win for the valley.

"In order to use the emergency room and urgent care effectively, it's really getting education out to the public," he says.

Saltzer health hopes the clinic relieves the strain on local emergency rooms and helps patients at the same time.

"It really enhances the healthcare of the individual."

This new facility is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it has 11 exam rooms, advanced imaging, and offers same-day blood work.

Subaitani says urgent care is an expansion of the family practice.

"Oftentimes, people that have acute issues can't get into their family practice doc to be able to be seen in a timely manner because their client base is full," he says.

Medical providers are prepared to help patients understand what's making them sick or figure out why they're in pain.

"Typically what we see is a lot of viral infections, bacterial infections, as well as ortho injuries," he says.

Clinicians also treat lacerations and abscesses and strains, sprains, and fractures.

"Because of our expanded scope of practice, the imaging we are able to do, we've actually been able to catch a lot of appendicitis

Treatment at urgent care is often much less than the emergency room.

"Sometimes even ten times less than the emergency room," he says. "The other thing is the wait times as well. Emergency rooms are typically flooded with patients that need to be seen."

The bottom line? There is a time to visit the emergency room.

"To go to the ER, if it's life-threatening and also if it is limb-threatening, it's typically going to the ER," he says.

But Saltzer Health's urgent care clinics will always be there to help.

"However, if you come into the urgent care, we'll be able to do a good assessment and get you to the appropriate care."

You can learn more about the clinic HERE.

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