As is the story with many towns in the region, the once-sleepy village of Catskill has become a bustling hub in its own right. As a flush of new residents has joined the ranks of long-timers who call the scenic northern Catskill Mountains home, the village has also welcomed an array of new community resources worthy of any burgeoning population center.
Among them is CMH Rapid Care-Catskill, the newest addition to Columbia Memorial Health’s (CMH) family of urgent care centers. While its first two Rapid Care centers, located in Valatie and Copake, extended its urgent care services into rural Columbia County, the Catskill location marks an important move into traditionally underserved Greene County. “We’ve thought for a long time that this area needs more access to care,” says Dr. Michael Weisberg, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Columbia Memorial Health. “We’re very excited to have this new opportunity to offer residents of Greene County high-quality, accessible care.”
Located on Grandview Avenue, the new Rapid Care center (formerly Catskill Urgent Care) opened in September, providing residents with a go-to local resource for minor emergency issues, including seasonal ailments and cuts, sprains, or fractures. Importantly, the facility will also help alleviate pressure on CMH’s Emergency department in Hudson, previously the primary emergency facility for residents in Greene County.
As with CMH’s other two Rapid Care centers, all providers at the Catskill facility—from physicians to physician’s assistants to nurse practitioners—have advanced emergency department training.
“Our philosophy is to bring emergency experts with a high level of clinical education and experience to our Rapid Care centers,” says Dr. Weisberg. “When you see a healthcare provider in an urgent care setting, you might only see them for a few minutes, but you’re really benefiting from their years of experience and training. It’s so important that the healthcare providers in those units have the experience and knowledge they need to diagnose each patient accurately and quickly.”
Among the many resources now available at the Catskill location include virtual appointments, rapid Covid testing, a dedicated room for patients with autism, and centralized imaging services overseen by CMH’s radiology team. Providers can also easily consult with the attending physician at the ER in Hudson and have access to CMH’s wider system of records and resources, which allows for greater continuity of care.
“That’s the thing about our Rapid Care centers—they’re connected to the entire Columbia Memorial Health system,” says Dr. Weisberg. “From the moment you come in, we’re able to see your medical record, family history, medication, everything.”
The expansion of CMH’s Rapid Care centers is just one of the many ways that it has worked to ensure a robust network of primary, specialty, and urgent care for the diverse residents it serves across three counties, which includes over 40 distinct practices. “It’s not just about the number of centers we have,” Dr. Weisberg says. “It’s about ensuring the highest quality of patient experience for all of our communities.”
Columbiamemorialhealth.org
This article appears in October 2021.
