Memorial Healthcare is transitioning their urgent care clinic from the North Dirksen Parkway location to a Southern Illinois University Medicine health center, shifting the urgent care service farther north and outside downtown.
The care previously provided at Memorial Care on North Dirksen Parkway will move to a federally qualified health center administered by SIU Medicine at 3220 Atlanta Street on the north side.
The change will impact urgent care employees at the North Dirksen clinic, who have been offered the option to transfer employment to SIU Medicine or move to another Memorial Care location.
Patients or employees of the primary care clinic at the site will not be affected, Memorial Healthcare stated, as Memorial will continue to operate a primary care clinic with lab and imaging services at that location.
A federally qualified health center receives support from the federal government to provide integrated, accessible health care services for all patients, regardless of insurance status. SIU Medicine operates another one of these centers at Fourth and Carpenter streets in downtown Springfield, the SIU Center for Family Medicine.
Memorial says SIU Medicine will provide care to the north side, who will open operation on Monday, June 3.
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In a 2020 study published by science journal PLOS ONE, the report found 4% of study subjects visited a federally qualified health center, and were more likely to be younger, have Medicaid, and live in low-income areas. Areas exposed to greater federally qualified health center funding were found to have more growth in the number of enrollees seen by these centers and greater reductions in emergency department visits for non-emergent conditions.
“Many patients who use urgent care services at our North Dirksen clinic would benefit from the services of an FQHC,” President of the Memorial Health Ambulatory Group Jay Roszhart said. “We feel confident that they will help us provide high-quality care at this location for all patients.”
In a 2022 report by the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance, Memorial Health is the second largest employer in Springfield with 5,238 employees – only behind the State of Illinois.
Roszhart said out of the 25 employees at the Memorial Care on Dirksen, 23 full time equivalent employees were affected. While most of the healthcare workers have already either moved to another Memorial Care, others have started moving through the steps in SIU’s hiring system.
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for the State Journal-Register. She can be reached at [email protected]; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
