ASAP Urgent Care Coming To Madison

If something goes wrong and your primary care doctor is not immediately available, you could be in for a wait. A recent study showed that in most of Connecticut's emergency rooms, the wait exceeds the national average of 28 minutes. And that wait could get longer, some say, as the uninsured gain health insurance.

Health care entrepreneur Traver Hutchins, the chief executive officer of ASAP Urgent Care, said his new company will help solve that problem for residents in Madison and in surrounding towns.

An urgent care center is due to open in early December at 146 Samson Rock Drive, in the Stop & Shop plaza right behind the town's restaurant and retail district on the Boston Post Road. Two other centers are also opening soon, including one at 2165 Dixwell Ave in Hamden, CT this coming weekend, and another at 199 Cherry Street in Milford, CT next weekend. A fourth location in New Haven county is being contemplated as well. 

"Get better"

Hutchins said his company's tagline is "get better." The emphasis is on quality, empathy, speed, and atmosphere. 

"Our goal is to be easy, accessible, and affordable," he said Tuesday morning, while overseeing the renovations being done to the Madison storefront due to open soon. He said the company also intends to be customer friendly. "We don't have a waiting room. We have a lounge. We don't have a a receptionist. We have a concierge."

Hutchins said ASAP Urgent Care is about "healing." 

A modern but warm sensibility

"We want to surround you with a modern but warm sensibility," he said. To that end, art work, including some by local artists, will adorn the walls. It may seem a small detail, but Hutchins said it's one of many small details that will make a difference. ""Data shows that art helps with healing. We are going to take a holistic approach. We will escort you through the whole experience."

If it sounds more Disney than Dr. Kildare, there's a reason for that.

Hutchins said that company officials spent more than two years thinking about how to approach the customer service aspect of the business and that employees will extensive training to make sure they understand why it is a priority.

Medical expertise as well

But the company brings with it plenty of medical expertise as well, Hutchins said Tuesday. Lawrence Earl is the chief operating officer and chief medical officer.

Earl is the medical director for NADME.org, the National Academy of DOT Medical Examiners, which trains physicians to become certified for the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME), according to the company's website. And he has served as the Corporate Medical Director at HealthNet of Oakland, NJ which owned and operated 12 ambulatory centers in NJ, NY and CT, the website says.

Mark Wasserman, MD, a specialist in minor surgical procedures and addiction medicine, also will be on the team, as is Bruce Molinelli, MD, the former director of minimally invasive surgery at Greenwich Hospital.

Fastest growing chain of urgent care facilities in Connecticut

Hutchins said ASAP Urgent Care is the fastest growing chain of urgent care facilities in Connecticut and that the company is targeting areas that are underserved when it comes to non-emergent emergency care.

ASAP Urgent Care will offer the same kind of services that can be found in mini-clinics and the typical doctor's office. That might include treatment for coughs, colds, sore throats, fevers, ear infections, asthma, allergies, nausea, cuts, bruises, bone fractures, and allergic reactions, among other ailments.

What ASAP Urgent Care doesn't do is take care of emergencies that are life-threatening or limb-threatening, Hutchins said. Those kind of emergencies will be referred to the appropriate care provider, he said. 

Won't replace family doctor, but will provide additional options 

He said ASAP Urgent Care also isn't there to replace people's primary care physician, but, rather to provide them with additional options with the primary care provider might not be available. 

Carla Jamison, the education director for the Urgent Care Association of America, said centers like ASAP Urgent Care are becoming more common as the need for healthcare options increases. 

"It fits right in between a primary care physician and the need to go to the emergency room," she said. She said she wasn't surprised to hear about the emphasis on customer service and atmosphere.

"You guys are lucky ... " 

"That's the difference between a primary care provider and urgent care. Urgent care is really more of a retail business. The competition is greater and there is definitely a bigger focus on patient experience and bringing people back. Not only are they trying to reduce costs, they are trying to provide people with an alternative to the emergency room." 

That emphasis on customer care, as healthcare options expand, will become more common, she said.

"It's becoming more and more typical. The centers are spending more time and money on an environment of care." 

"You guys are lucky to have one coming," she said.