SpringVale opens Rapid Care location, unveils mobile health unit
Inside the mobile health unit, patients can receive health screens, lab draws and behavioral health crisis assessments without having to go to the SpringVale facility.
SpringVale Health Centers held an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Rapid Care Center and unveiled its mobile health unit in New Philadelphia on Feb. 8. The Rapid Care Center offers urgent medical care, behavioral healthcare and face-to-face crisis assessments on a walk-in basis.
The opening came on the heels of a Dec. 20 announcement regarding the discontinuation of SpringVale’s around-the-clock access to in-person behavioral health crisis intervention services due to patients being referred by Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital to Coleman Professional Services in Canton and Kent.
“Not only can you come in and get everything you think of when you think of urgent care including radiology and labs, we also have a behavioral health component,” said J.J. Boroski, executive director for SpringVale Health Centers. “So any individual that is experiencing a behavioral health issue or a substance-use issue can walk in without an appointment and see a counselor right then.”
In addition, Boroski said medical staff at the center can prescribe psychiatric medications, eliminating the need for patients to wait for an appointment with a psychiatric provider.
“The other thing that makes us different is that anyone who walks through our doors is charged on a sliding fee scale,” Boroski said. “No matter what insurance you have and no matter what your income is, we’ll assess on our sliding fee scale so that insurance and your ability to pay aren’t barriers to getting the care that you need.”
Tanya Shelley, crisis intervention specialist for SpringVale, said, “The urgent care is here for when you can’t get into your primary care provider but need to be seen, and the behavioral health component is here for individuals who are going through a rough time and need resources and support.”
SpringVale will continue to maintain its five-bed crisis stabilization unit on Hospital Drive in Dover and its 24/7 crisis hotline. Patients can be referred there from the Rapid for acute inpatient behavioral healthcare. The unit also serves as a step-down for people who are stable but not yet ready to return home.
Also on display was the new SpringVale Mobile Health Unit, which Boroski said is the first of its kind in Tuscarawas County. SpringVale plans to use the unit to reach areas of the county not serviced by other urgent care facilities or behavioral health clinics.
The 35-foot-long unit includes two exam rooms and a restroom and allows SpringVale providers to set up clinics throughout the county offering primary care exams, immunizations, health screenings, lab draws and other services.
“It’s pretty versatile,” Boroski said. “Next month it will be in Sugarcreek for the Sugarcreek Rotary Club Health Check, so we will be doing lab draws, blood pressure checks and general health screenings. We hope to partner with area schools in the future and conduct some mobile dental screenings,” Boroski said.
Tammy Schaeffer, radiology technician at the Rapid Care, said the imaging machine has already been put to use many times. “We’ve done some chest X-rays, spine and extremities,” she said. “The unit is portable too, so if a patient is having difficulty, we can move it into their exam room for scans.”
Brianna Gribble, receptionist at the new Rapid Care Center, said the center has already been quite busy in its first month of operation.
“We’ve seen patients from young to old for sore throats, runny noses, coughing, just about anything at all,” Gribble said.
SpringVale Rapid Care is located at 155 Garland Drive in New Philadelphia and can be called at 330-365-9192. Walk-in hours are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or considering suicide, call the Crisis Care Hotline day or night at 330-343-1811 in Tuscarawas County and 330-627-5240 in Carroll County.