Urgent care wing officially completed at Center Associates | News, Sports, Jobs

TR PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Center Associates Clinical Director Nick Calzada, left, and Executive Director Paul Daniel, right, stand at the entrance to the new urgent care wing of their facility at 3809 S. Center St.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and few in the Marshalltown community do more to bring attention to the issue on a day-to-day basis than Center Associates Executive Director Paul Daniel and Clinical Director Nick Calzada.

Since CA opened in its new location at 3809 S. Center St. back in August of 2022, Daniel has been passionate about creating an urgent care wing to help those who need immediate attention and can’t afford to wait several weeks before speaking to a counselor. While they’ve been testing a pilot program within the existing facility for about a year, the dedicated wing with a separate southwest entrance is officially open and operational as of this month.

As Daniel explained, the urgent care program is a way to triage immediate needs and also ease the strain on the emergency room at the nearby UnityPoint hospital.

“For me, a picture is a balloon, and we’re just letting some air out so you can calm down and get back into it,” he said. “So having that in mind, we envisioned what we can do because we were struggling here to get people in.”

Between April of 2023 and last month, 905 patients utilized the urgent care pilot program, and it broke down almost evenly along gender lines — with more of them needing therapy (701) than medication (203). Adults made up the vast majority of the visits, with 685 as opposed to 219 children,

Every situation is different, Daniel added, in terms of severity and what the right remedy might be, and the solution isn’t always as simple as it might be during a traditional medical emergency.

“Urgent care is more of a triaging to take the tension down and then resourcing them. Urgent that started, but now, do you need long-term therapy? Do you need other community services? Do you need medication? It gives us an opportunity to just process with the patient what the need is,” he said.

One example he provided was an individual who was visiting his parents from out of state and just wanted to talk about the tough times he’s been having, but on the other hand, they’ve dealt with those who are feeling intense depression and even suicidal ideations , requiring a crisis plan and referrals to UPH-Marshalltown.

Currently, urgent care is available from 1 to 3 pm Monday through Friday, and Calzada is optimistic about the prospects of expanding by at least one hour a day as the demand continues to grow. If the stars align perfectly, they’d love to offer it from 10 am to 6 pm or even on nights and weekends.

“We’re working on going to 1 to 4. That’s been our goal since we started it. As of right now, it’s first come, first serve, but we’re processing towards calling in (the) same day,” he said. “When people come (on a) first come, first serve (basis), they’re coming in right at 1:00, 1:05. Some of those patients are waiting in the lobby for an hour and a half, and that can cause anxiety with the patient. This way, it’s gonna be more controlled where they’re gonna call (the) same day and have an (appointment).”

There are five providers staffing the urgent care clinic — one per day — along with a medication provider available, and Daniel noted that even if someone comes outside of the designated hours with an emergency, someone will find a way to see them.

“Whoever has an opening, we’re gonna treat them. That’s our mission,” he said.

Both Calzada and Daniel feel that conversations around mental health continue to move in the right direction as stigma breaks down and more people realize that it’s every bit as important as physical health to overall wellness.

“I just think bringing the stigma down comes down to educating the public that it’s OK to have a mental health issue. It’s just like if you need to go to the ER for your arm, it’s the same as having a panic attack. If you’re dealing with depression, there’s help available,” Calzada said.

While the overall trajectory is positive, leadership at CA is still struggling to find enough clinicians to meet the ever-increasing need without burning out the current staff. But they are taking proactive steps like contacting patients within 72 hours of their visits to assess how they’re feeling, which Daniel said has been “so important” while Calzada added that “95 to 98 percent” of the reactions are better than they were before and appreciative of the service they received.

“It’s just clarity, clarity to move forward with a plan. Wherever you go… It doesn’t mean Center Associates, just go into the community, but now the clouds (have) moved away and I can see a little bit more clearly,” Daniel said.

Center Associates can be reached at (641) 752-1585.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 hrs

[email protected].