Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute Expands Urgent Care Service
SCHERERVILLE – With a goal of making orthopedic care easily accessible to the community, the Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute is expanding its Orthopedic Urgent Care offerings in Northwest Indiana.
In May, LBJI opened its third Urgent Care location at 833 W. Lincoln Highway in Schererville, joining its Urgent Care locations at 3691 Willowcreek Road in Portage and 500 East 109th Ave. in Crown Point.
“The reason we do this is that it provides a faster, easier, more convenient and less expensive avenue for patients to access our services,” said Jason Wolf, Physician Assistant and Director of Orthopedic Urgent Care at LBJI.
Injuries can happen at any time, and patients can walk into the LBJI Urgent Care locations without making an appointment. Wolf said the goal is to have patients seen within an hour.
A trip to the ER could have patients waiting five or six hours, after which they might still be referred to LBJI for their injuries.
“I think that we help cut out the middleman, and we give our patients more direct access to the surgeons in the area,” Wolf said. Plus, the patient saves money since they are only charged for an office visit.
“The Urgent Care centers provide immediate, cost-effective orthopedic care to the community, and our physician assistants work in conjunction with our surgeons to ensure our patients receive the best care possible,” said Dr. David Musgrave, a surgeon at LBJI.
It’s clear that LBJI’s Urgent Care locations are meeting a need in the community. Wolf said the medical staff sees 1,300 to 1,500 patients each month between the Portage and Crown Point locations.
“Over the years, we have provided consistent exceptional service to our patients,” Wolf said. “We’ve gotten them in to see the surgeons much faster than they would otherwise get in from the emergency room.”
Wolf recalled a recent situation in which a young patient came in with a badly fractured arm minutes before the LBJI Urgent Care closed.
The team reduced the injury, splinted it and had the patient ready for surgery within 36 hours.
“I think that’s a testament to how quickly we can get somebody the treatment they need,” Wolf said. “We can get someone seen, evaluated, stabilized and into surgery within 24 to 48 hours.”
For those who don’t need surgery, the medical team can directly refer them for an MRI, therapy or other necessary treatments.
Wolf made it clear that the LBJI Urgent Care centers aren’t a replacement for all ER services as they don’t treat head or chest injuries.
“Any ligament, tendon, bone or muscle from the neck down, we will address,” Wolf said. “I think that we provide a very good and necessary service to the community.”
Visit lbjiurgentcare.com for more information about the LBJI Urgent Care locations and services.