It’s the second clinic of its kind, offering community members much-needed medical care.
Sheila Whipple was on her way to Pali Momi Medical Center with her son. His hands and feet were swollen for some unknown reason.
"We just saw that sign out there and my son said ‘hey mom, maybe we should give this a try’," Whipple said.
So they pulled into Kunia Urgent Care, located minutes away from their Village Park home. They walked in, and were instantly taken care of.
"They’re doing the blood test and we’re waiting for the results, the doctor took a couple of x-rays," she said.
It’s the kind of non-life threatening case, this clinic is prepared for.
"We see the common colds, the ear infections, we see lacerations, broken bones," said Jose Almeida with Kunia Urgent Care.
Medical professionals who used to work at Hawaii Medical Center West in Ewa, opened this facility last week, after losing their jobs when the hospital shut down nearly a year ago. Since the closure, residents have been traveling to Wahiawa General, Pali Momi, or elsewhere if ambulances are being rerouted to a hospital that isn’t as busy.
"If they have too many patients and they have people waiting, they will send patients to us, as well as the EMT‘s," said Melissa Bojorquez with Pearl City Urgent Care.
Pearl City Urgent Care opened its doors almost a year ago, also by former HMC West workers. Business has steadily increased, as they continue to help alleviate the patient load at nearby hospitals.
Although Queen’s Health Systems announced it will reopen the Ewa hospital in the fall of next year, residents say they’re thankful these types of medical facilities are helping them now.
"You feel safer if you have something so close you know," Whipple said.
Both clinics are open seven days a week and accept medical insurance.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
