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10/28/2009
Ephraim McDowell Health has expanded its presence in Garrard County over the past year by opening a facility in Lancaster that offers diagnostic services and a specialty clinic. The healthcare organization has also expanded the services of its family medical center in northern Garrard County with the addition of immediate care services on the weekend.
“Because Garrard County is designated as a medically underserved area, we believe we have an obligation as their neighbor to try to provide the healthcare services the community needs that are not already available,” said Clark Taylor, chief executive officer of Ephraim McDowell Health.
Ephraim McDowell Lancaster opened in March at 189 Farra Drive, immediately behind the Garrard County Senior Center. Services include Lancaster Diagnostics – which provides lab and X-ray services Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – and a Specialty Clinic – which schedules appointments Monday through Friday for individuals to have office visits with specialty physicians who practice outside of Garrard County.
“We are not trying to duplicate services already available in Lancaster and Garrard County,” Taylor noted. “Our goal is to complement the current services and improve the access to care for Garrard County residents.”
Lab and X-ray services like those offered at Ephraim McDowell Lancaster were not previously available in Lancaster, Taylor noted.
One of the biggest attractions with Ephraim McDowell Lancaster is the PACS digital technology that is utilized by the X-ray services. Ephraim McDowell Health invested $55,000 in this technology, which is the only one of its kind in Garrard County. The technology creates digital images when the X-ray equipment is used, as opposed to film images taken by traditional X-ray equipment. The digital technology provides for quick and accurate diagnoses.
Ephraim McDowell Lancaster also offers cardio/vascular services, including echocardiography, vascular ultrasound and carotid artery ultrasound.
The Specialty Clinic makes it more convenient for patients to be seen on-site and closer to home by specialty physicians who practice outside of Garrard County. Among the physicians who are scheduling appointments with patients at the Specialty Clinic is Dr. Jonelle DeLawrence, an obstetrician/gynecologist who is on the medical staff at Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital.
Immediate care services are now available on the weekend at North Garrard Family Medical Center, located at 7786 Lexington Road. The facility’s hours are Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Individuals may walk in, without an appointment, for treatment of acute medical problems including sore throat, earache, coughs, colds, congestion, flu-like illness, injuries, sprains or strains. DOT, school and sports physicals are also available.
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