Marshall Browning Hospital To Open Urgent Care Center

Du Quoin, Illinois - January 11, 2016 - Busy parents, active kids, and people of all ages in Perry County will soon have a convenient new option for healthcare. Marshall Browning Hospital is pleased to announce the opening of an urgent care service on February 1, 2016. The urgent care clinic will extend Marshall Browning's reach for improving health and promoting wellness to all of the area communities.

The urgent care clinic will be available to assist patients with an illness or injury that does not require the full services of an emergency room, but cannot wait for an appointment with their primary care doctor. The service will be located in the Marshall Browning Medical Clinic (Kuehn Medical Building) across from the hospital at 900 North Washington Street, Du Quoin. The facility will also continue to provide the services of Dr. Gladstone Tucker, Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Danielle Klump, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Dr. Richard Parks, Psychiatry.

Marshall Browning Hospital is pleased to announce that Dr. Clay Travis will be the medical director of the urgent care service and will be joined by Mike Staff, PA-C and Cathy Lyons, PA-C. All three providers are board certified and have worked together for many years in Carbondale.

Dr. Travis and his wife, Kathy, reside in Pinckneyville and have two children. He is a graduate of University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and completed his residency in Family Practice at Methodist Medical Center in Peoria. Dr. Travis is Board Certified in Family Practice and is a Registered Medical Examiner for DOT physicals and is certified (Civil Surgeon) for Immigration and Naturalization Examinations. Dr. Travis previously had a private practice in Du Quoin and has worked in southern Illinois since 1994.

Mike Staff is a Board Certified Physician Assistant. He completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physician Assistant Studies from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC and earned a Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Family Medicine from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. He previously worked as a flight paramedic for MedSTAR Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and has most recently worked as a Physician Assistant in the southern Illinois area. Mike brings 23 years of experience as a Physician Assistant.

Cathy Lyons is a Board Certified Physician Assistant. She completed an Associate Degree in Nursing from Southeast Missouri State University and worked as an ICU Staff RN before earning her Physician Assistant Degree from University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. Cathy brings over 20 years of experience as a Physician Assistant in the southern Illinois area.

"Urgent care is a new player in the health care field," said Dan Eaves, CEO of Marshall Browning Hospital. "The triple aim of health care is to deliver high quality care at a lower cost with a high level of satisfaction. Urgent care is an important tool in accomplishing that goal."

At urgent care, patients will receive personalized and compassionate care - without the long waits for non-emergencies or typically higher costs of a regular emergency department visit. If a patient's condition calls for additional, more extensive care, we will facilitate the immediate transfer to the hospital's emergency department and contact the patient's primary care physician. By definition, an emergency is "a serious situation or occurrence that happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action." That's why the Emergency Department at Marshall Browning Hospital is always open to meet a family's healthcare needs. The urgent care service will treat medical conditions that are not considered emergencies but still require care within 24 hours. Some examples of conditions appropriate for the walk-in urgent care center will include: wound care, minor lacerations, sprains and strains, fever or flu, vomiting and diarrhea, sore throat and cough, minor broken bones, skin rashes and infections, urinary tract infections, earache and sinus infections. The medical clinic as well as the urgent care center will provide DOT physicals by appointment only.

The hours for the Urgent Care will include Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. No appointment is needed.

"We have been aware for quite some time that there was a significant need for additional physicians in Perry County and certainly in Du Quoin. This is a big start and we are not finished yet. Marshall Browning Hospital is going a new direction and the community can expect a new and greater health care experience in 2016," added Dan Eaves.