IU Health to Open a Dozen Urgent Care Clinics in Central Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana University Health plans to open 12 urgent care clinics across central Indiana over the next two years. IU Health recently started offering same-day primary care appointments for adults and children, and continues to expand access to expert physicians to meet the need for urgent care in central Indiana.

“These new urgent care facilities will provide Hoosiers with convenient access to expert treatment while helping them avoid unnecessary costs and trips to the emergency room,” said Ron Stiver, president of Indiana University Health system clinical services. “IU Health has the largest network of primary care physicians in the state, which uniquely positions us to improve access to care through expanded evening and weekend hours.”

When medical needs arise outside of traditional business hours, consumers expect fast, convenient treatment from qualified physicians. Many are turning to walk-in urgent care clinics that can treat injuries and ailments such as lacerations, broken bones, skin rashes and ear infections that require immediate medical attention, but do not warrant a trip to the emergency room. The trend toward urgent care expansion is growing nationally, with approximately 9,000 clinics in the U.S. seeing more than three million patient visits per week.

The new IU Health urgent care clinics will be managed through an exclusive Indiana partnership with Premier Health, an urgent care company specializing in joint ventures and management services, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The first IU Health Urgent Care Clinic is expected to open in 2015, with 12 clinics becoming operational by the end of 2016.