ORLEANS – After a full season in operation, Cape Cod Hospital’s urgent care center in Orleans is being praised as a success.
Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Michael Lauf spoke about the opening of Orleans Urgent Care last year. He said in addition to people in the area expressing a desire to have closer services, the numbers at nearby locations were also showing there was a need.
“We also found out in the summer our Fontaine Urgent Care in Harwich was so busy and so successful that it was creating longer wait times than we wanted,” he said.
Lauf said Cape Cod Healthcare partnered with Outer Cape Health Services, other organizations, and the Town of Orleans to open the urgent care center.
“We saw over 60 people a day without ever having a grand opening,” Lauf said.
The location was open from July through October last year and plans to reopen this spring.
Lauf said the seasonal facility was well-received and Cape Cod Healthcare has plans to move more primary care to the area.
“We have five primary care physicians in the Lower, Outer Cape now. We’re going to add four more and that’s all to try to keep people closer to their homes.”
Lauf added that with roughly a third of the Cape’s population being seniors, older residents don’t want to have to drive an hour to receive care.
Listen to the full Sunday Journal with Michael Lauf.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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