ST. PETER — The need was urgent, so River’s Edge expanded its urgent care hours.
River’s Edge Hospital Urgent Care is now operating daily 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday, including holidays.
Stephanie Holden, chief experience officer at River’s Edge in St. Peter, said due to increased urgent care visits and staff workload, hours were extended.
Previously, urgent care operated noon to 7:30 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on weekends and was closed on holidays.
The change aims to accommodate community needs and reduce pressure on the emergency department. The facility has been operating with the updated hours since April 1. Holden said it has been well received by the residents of St. Peter and surrounding communities as well.
“It’s a win for the community because we’re open longer, and so we’re open earlier and we’re open later,” she said.
The facility updated the hours because the volume of patients being treated during the previous hours of operation was increasing. Visits to the emergency department prior to urgent care opening also were rising — visits that could have potentially been handled in urgent care instead.
“It definitely allows our providers and our nursing staff to not necessarily feel the pressure of knowing how many people are waiting to be seen and being able to provide a little bit extra attention to the patients who are coming in for urgent care,” she said.
There hasn’t been much of a change in the number of visits since the update, but visits are now more evenly dispersed throughout the day. There have also been fewer visits to the emergency department because providers are able to triage patients and assess whether they can be treated at urgent care.
“Because of the volume, the staff was feeling busy so we’re trying to spread things out a little bit for the staff and then also offer expanded times for the community,” Holden said.
The change provides additional access to care on holidays, when no other clinics besides emergency departments are open.
The urgent care includes services for non-emergent illnesses and injuries and is always staffed with a triage nurse, a nurse and a provider who must either be a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.
Visit riversedgehealth.org for more information.