Albany Medical Center hospital is expanding its network of urgent care facilities in the Capital Region. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Monday in the Saratoga County Town of Clifton Park.
There will soon be a new option for urgent care in one of the fastest-growing communities in the Capital Region.
The new medical office complex planned for 989 Route 146, just across from the Shenendehowa Central School District campus, replaces a set of buildings originally constructed in 1993.
Richard Rosen, Vice President and Partner of Columbia Development Companies, said the new 14,400-square foot medical office complex will bring better technology, infrastructure, and patient flow.
“We decided that it was best to bring these buildings up to date, we build new buildings so they would exceed New York state energy code, they would have all the modern infrastructure to provide first-class healthcare here in Clifton Park,” said Rosen.
The site will provide a home to Albany Medical Center’s 12th planned EmUrgent Care facility. As the hospital system expands beyond the city of Albany, Executive Vice President and President of the Faculty Practice Dr. Dennis McKenna said the facility will provide an alternative to the traditional primary care office or emergency department.
“Rather than seeking only in a primary care office or an emergency department with their physician, more and more people are looking exactly for the kind of care that’s provided in these EmUrgent Cares. Expert care, convenient care, full range of health concerns are covered,” said McKenna.
Those with urgent and non-urgent illnesses and injuries can seek treatment from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the EmUrgent Care facility. Albany Med says the average patient is served in 32 minutes.
The new complex in the town of more than 36,000 residents is set to open in October. It will also house other medical offices, including a satellite office for the Bone and Joint Center.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Quinn said about 30 percent of EmUrgent Care visits involve orthopedic problems, with about half of those visits requiring follow-up.
“So without stepping on each other’s toes, we decided that it made a lot of sense – synergy, if you want to use that term – to be co-located with Albany Med EmUrgent Cares to the degree that we could manage it,” said Quinn.
Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett says the new medical center highlights the town’s efforts to diversify its economy.
“We have had a regional mall in town since the ’70s. We undertook a drastic renovation of many of the properties in the Exit 9 area. We incorporated hospitality and healthcare into that plan. And now you’re seeing that same effort here: redevelopment and diversification of our economy here in Clifton Park,” said Barrett.
