An urgent care center will close in the Clarkston Medical Building after the pending sale of the medical facility to McLaren Health Care Corporation.
“We are in discussions with them (McLaren) to convert our urgent care center into an emergency room,” Dr. Tim O’Neill said. “We hope to have a final decision by the end of the month. It could provide full emergency services on our site in the partnership.”
The Clarkston Medical Group, which was started by Dr. James O’Neill, Tim’s father, expanded from a Main Street practice to its current location at Sashabaw Road and Bow Pointe Drive.
The medical center will be replaced by an emergency room, part of “Plan B” for McLaren after the hospital group failed to convince state lawmakers the area needed a full-scale hospital.
Urgent care centers treat common illnesses like the flu or cold and non-life threatening injuries while emergency rooms treat life threatening illness and emergencies.
According to Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan, urgent care centers serve patients when their normal doctor’s office is closed, but their injury or illness does not require a trip to the ER.
ER and urgent care center billing is different, too. Urgent care costs less than trips to the ER and health plans often require a higher deductible for ER visits.
ERs are open 24-hours a day seven days a week. Clarkston Urgent Care is also open 24 hour a day seven days a week, but many other urgent care centers are not.
When Clarkston Urgent Care closes, options for care include Independence Urgent Care, 7992 N. Main Street, open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., and weekends from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Clarkston Health Center, operated by McLaren Oakland near Dixie and White Roads, open 24 hours a day seven days a week. The facility is a full service emergency room.
Josh Newblatt, a life long Clarkston resident and emergency physician, said he plans to open a center on Sashabaw Road.
“We hope to fill the gap left behind by the McLaren plan,” Newblatt said
Hospitals are designated by levels, based on degree of care, with Level 1 hospitals able to treat the worst injuries.
The closest hospital to Clarkston with a full emergency room is McLaren Oakland in Pontiac, a Level 2 hospital.
The only Level 1 trauma hospital in Oakland County is the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.
Emergency rooms close to Clarkston include North Oakland Medical Center, Pontiac, 8.7 miles away, non-profit; POH, Level 2, Pontiac, non-profit, 9.34 miles; Huron Valley Sinai, Commerce, non-profit, 153 beds, 10.71 miles; St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, Level 2, non-profit, 11.07 miles, 403 beds; Genesys Regional, Grand Blanc, non-profit, 410 beds, 14 miles; and William Beaumont Hospital, Troy, Level 2, certified trauma center, non-profit, 458 beds.