MD Now Medical Centers, the fastest growing Urgent Care company in Florida today announced the opening of its newest urgent care in Sunrise, Florida at the corner of West Oakland Park and Nob Hill Road. This latest facility to open increases the number of MD Now Urgent Care centers to 12, with ten more presently under construction.
Driving this rapid growth is a national trend of patients turning to urgent care centers for quick, convenient and affordable healthcare. According to leading publisher of business intelligence IbisWorld, the $15 billion urgent care market is the fastest growing sector of the overall health care industry.
"It's exciting to see how urgent care has changed the healthcare landscape with improved access and extended service hours, " said P. Joanne Ray, CEO of the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAOA). "Urgent care centers such as MD Now offer quality alternatives to emergency department visits."
In 2012, private equity investment firm Brockway Moran & Partners of Boca Raton made an investment in MD Now, to fund its rapid expansion. Peter Lamelas, M.D., CEO of MD Now, who founded the growing urgent care chain in 2005 said, "In just eight years, we've scaled to 300 employees and are now treating over 200,000 patients annually. By 2015, MD Now will grow to at least 30 centers throughout South Florida."
The next two MD Now Urgent Cares will open in Pembroke Pines and West Boynton Beach in January 2014, where services like diagnostic imaging, DOT physicals, drug testing, urine drug screens, occupational healthcare, comprehensive healthcare, physical therapy and more will be available to residents in and traveling within those communities.
According to the UCAOA, urgent care centers remain the go-to place for care – especially on weekends, evenings and holidays. Benefits of urgent care include:
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Decreased wait times – urgent care visit times are typically one hour or less compared to multi-hour wait times in hospital emergency rooms
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Greater availability – open seven days with extended hours and some, like MD Now always have a physician onsite
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Lower cost – urgent care centers charge a fraction of an ER visit
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Comprehensive healthcare services – provide imaging and medical services, not typically found in pharmacy retail clinics or primary care physician offices, making Urgent Care the best overall choice for comprehensive family healthcare
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