By: James Beaty
Xpress Wellness Urgent Care is set to open its new urgent care facility on Monday, Feb.22.
It offers access to urgent care for non-life-threatening medical conditions for patients of all ages, said a spokesperson for the facility. Services offered include computerized X-rays, lab testing and EKGs, to allow for quick point-of-care testing and rapid diagnosis.
The new walk-in clinic is at 340 S. George Nigh Expressway in McAlester, north of the Dollar General Store, Aaron’s and Tractor Supply in the area.
“Our goal is to provide new healthcare options and convenient, quality care close to home,” Xpress Wellness Founder Dr. Scott Williams said in a release. “We are looking forward to bringing our patient-centered care to the McAlester community.”
Medical services will be offered for adults and children for conditions including the common cold, flu, sprains and strains, cuts and scrapes, allergies infections, physicals and more.
Xpress Wellness plans to offer employers access to services as a pre-employment physicals, Department of Transportation physicals, drug and alcohol testing, treatment for work-related injuries and spirometry, or breathing tests.
An Xpress Wellness spokesman said most insurance plans are accepted, with a “competitive self-pay option” for uninsured patients.
The city of McAlester issued a building permit for a 3,600 square foot building, for $990,000 in total costs and improvements, said McAlester Community Development Director Jayme Clifton.
Hours for both in-person and virtual visits are from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Plans call for the facility to open for the first patients at 8 a.m. on Monday.
“All waiting rooms are closed due to COVID-19,” Perez said.
Patients can make appointments and wait in their cars, she said. They will be contacted when it’s their turn to come inside.
She encouraged those planning to visit Xpress Wellness to sign up first online at the facility’s website.
Williams said Xpress Wellness offers an innovative clinic design, which allows sick patients to remain separated from COVID-19 patients.
“We’ve always operated with safety as one of our Four Core Principles,” Williams said in a release.
“With onset of this pandemic, we recognized very quickly that making sure these efforts are amplified would make our patients and guests feel secure about coming to our clinic for urgent care needs, like stitches, without worry about being in contact with potentially COVID-19 infected individuals,” Williams said.
“Because of this, we totally redesigned our building spaces so that when you enter, you go immediately into an exam room without having to pass through the general clinic or nurses’ station where sick individuals may have been,” Williams said. “It’s a really cool concept.”
No grand opening celebration is planned at this time, due to COVID-19 concerns, though there is the hope to hold one in the future.
“Due to COVID-19, everything will be virtual,” said Alondra Perez, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Xpress Wellness. “Hopefully, later on, we will do a reopening.”
Anyone needing more information can go to the urgent care center’s website at www.ericw38.sg-host.com, a company spokesman said.
Williams founded Xpress Wellness in 2014. It’s headquartered in Oklahoma City, led by Chief Executive Officer Grant Asay.
With the opening of the McAlester facility, Xpress Wellness Urgent Care facilities are now operating at 26 locations, including 20 that are operating in Oklahoma.
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