smyrna primary care :: Article CreatorChristianaCare, GoHealth Add 4 More Urgent Care Centers
ChristianaCare GoHealth Urgent Care Centers describe themselves as on-demand care.
ChristianaCare and GoHealth on Tuesday celebrated the opening of four urgent care centers, bringing the number they operate to 14 in Delaware and two in Maryland, one in Easton and one in Northeast.
Each of the four new sites is named for their locations: Kirkwood at 3926 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington; New Castle at 129 N. Dupont Highway, New Castle; Newark at 1 Chestnut Hill Plaza, Suite C, Newark; and Dover at 15 S. Dupont HIghway, Dover.
All are former MedExpress sites which were bought by GoHealth. One of those clinics on U.S. 202 will not reopen as a GoHealth center because it's only a half mile from one.
The clinics are designed to help patients get immediate care, especially when they can't get into their own doctors, while keeping more minor problems out of overburdened hospital emergency rooms.
"We are committed to increasing access to quality care in New Castle County, expanding access and removing barriers to on demand care for our neighbors," said Chris Disanto, operations manager for the clinics. "Anybody who has attempted to go in and see their physicians, they know there are access issues. This is where we come in."
The center can treat non-life-threatening injuries and conditions, including minor burns and cuts, sprains, urinary tract infections, viral and bacterial illnesses, earaches, headaches, asthma and sore throats.
The urgent care visits can be three times quick than visiting a hospital emergency room, offer X-ray facilities and on-site lab facilities for rapid diagnostic tests.
GoHealth partnerships
GoHealth partners with healthcare organizations such as ChristianaCare to provide a continuum of care. If urgent care patients need additional attention, they can be seamlessly referred to ChristianaCare's expert primary specialty and emergency care, Disanto said.
"We are honored to be a physical and digital front door in the patient care journey here," he said.
Many of the clinic employees moved over to GoHealth after it bought MedExpress.
The clinics will be staffed mostly by advanced practice specialists such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners who will always have access to a doctor, said Dr. Horatio Jones, medical director of ChristianaCare GoHealth Urgent Cares.
A primary care physician, he gave up his private practice to work for the hospital system to help cope with the avalanche of demands on his office.
IN THE NEWS: Delaware schools will increase security measures this fall
The urgent cares can see about 48 patients per day per attending specialist, said Amir Garcia, the onsite manager for four of the clinics, including Kirkwood.
The typical patient load at one of them is 35 patients, he said. The clinics operate four patient rooms.
All of the clinics have been open since July and they are in-network with most insurance plans.
Their office hours are 8 a.M. To 8 p.M. Daily. The business times of day tend to be first thing in the morning and around 5 p.M. To 7 p.M. When people are getting off work, or realize that they're getting sicker and won't be able to see their own doctor quickly.
Walk-in patients are welcome, but patients also may go online to reserve a slot.
RELATED STORIES: First State Educate starts Center for School Board Excellence08/09/2024 Meet the ambassador to Easterseals' Walk With Me08/09/2024 Weather service warns that tornado possible Friday, too08/09/2024
Smyrna Doubles Property Taxes To Cover $2 Million Deficit
Smyrna is catching up on its audits, and the spike in taxes will help make up the $2 million that the town was short in its budget this year.
Citing the woes of inflation and healthcare costs, the town of Smyrna has doubled its property taxes to deal with a $2 million shortfall for its fiscal year 2025 budget.
Mayor Robert Johnson said the costs of healthcare, pensions, and increased salaries for town employees have been necessary to keep the town competitive in the workforce market.
The town's fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.
Property taxes will rise from 47 cents to 94 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
Johnson said the best way for homeowners to figure out what their new tax bill is would be to simply multiply their previous one by two.
The size of the average home and average tax hike wasn't immediately available Tuesday.
The state is grappling with ongoing and long-awaited reassessments as well, which haven't been completed in several decades and could raise property taxes even further in the near future.
Smyrna, which straddles the New Castle and Kent county line, will release its official audit at a city council meeting Monday, Aug. 5 at 6:45 p.M.
Watch that meeting here.
"We were behind with our audits for about two years," Johnson said. "We just finished '22 and they're going to start '23 probably within a month, and that'll give us a better picture as to where we actually stand."
The town council will have to approve or reject the audit at Monday's meeting.
Johnson said an audit rejection is "not going to happen."
He said the audit will reveal aspects of the budget and which funds had a surplus or deficit.
Specifically, he has his eyes on the water fund. The town typically allocates $3 to $5 million for the water and electric funds, and he wants to reduce that to $2 million.
The $2 million the town is short is for affects its general fund.
"The general fund is your licensing fees and property taxes," he said, " where the water and electric fund would be water rates, sewer and trash service rates."
The last time the town raised property taxes was two years ago, when they were raised by about eight cents per $100 of assessed property value.
"When we raised taxes, that eliminated the deficit in the budget," Johnson said.
The audit will be made public, and Johnson said it will give the town a much clearer vision of where it stands financially.
Still, he said Smyrna is in a good place.
"The town is really moving in a much better direction, you know. It's not as bad as people think," he said. "When you get the audit done, it eases a lot of pressure to get that out the way, and it really helps stabilize the town staff."
RELATED STORIES: First State Educate starts Center for School Board Excellence08/09/2024 Meet the ambassador to Easterseals' Walk With Me08/09/2024 Weather service warns that tornado possible Friday, too08/09/2024
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. In journalism and a B.A. In political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN's Michael Smerconish's YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
Smyrna Deadly Shooting: 2 Austell Brothers Arrested In Teen's Murder
2 brothers charged with Smyrna murder
Smyrna police have arrested 18-year-old Kyle Bute and his brother, 22-year-old Chris Brute, for the murder of a young man at an apartment complex on Wexford Hills Parkway.
SMYRNA, Ga. - A Smyrna teen is dead and two brothers from Austell have been charged with his murder and are in jail. Smyrna police raced to Wexford Hills Parkway off King Springs Road in the very early hours of Friday morning. Investigators say at least four young men between the ages of 18 and 22 had planned to meet up for a drug transaction.
"Some young adults, attempting to make the purchase of some marijuana, and apparently something went terribly wrong," said Smyrna Police Major Louis Defense.
Court records show Chamori Callender and Omar Jackson were attempting to buy about $50 worth of marijuana. Documents show a car pulled up in the townhome community adjacent to an apartment complex, and two guys jumped out wearing masks and carrying a rifle. The warrant indicates that Callender and Jackson took off running and jumped the fence toward the apartment complex; that is when they were shot at. Callender was struck by a bullet and killed.
A makeshift memorial for Chamori Callender was erected along Wexford Hills Parkway off King Springs Road in Smyrna after a deadly shooting on July 5, 2024. (FOX 5)
Investigators went to work and said, using technology, they were able to identify two suspects within hours of the shooting.
"Cellphone technology and our FUSUS Crime Center, we used that type of data and resources to narrow our investigation, which allowed us to quickly determine who we think was involved and subsequently obtain arrest warrants," said Maj. Defense.
Kyle Bute, who is 18, and his brother, Chris Bute, who is 22, were booked into the Cobb County Jail. Both men were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Kyle Bute and Chris Bute were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault. (FOX 5)
"Knowing that an actual shooting took place and that a gun was fired is obviously concerning," said Ashley Mack who lives in the apartment complex.
Residents of the complex were stunned to learn a young man, not even 20 years old, was killed near the entrance of their community.
"Especially over something like a marijuana buy, it's very unfortunate," said Mack.
Police say the investigation is still underway to determine if anyone else was involved.
Comments
Post a Comment