DuBOIS – DuBois Regional Medical Center is pleased to introduce “The Clinic at Walmart” to the St. Marys region. The new clinic is located inside the Walmart along the Million Dollar Highway in Fox Township. Operated by DuBois Regional Medical Center, in affiliation with DuBois Regional Medical Group, it is the newest location for basic health care services.
The clinic provides convenient, affordable access to basic health care services, seven days a week, with no appointment necessary. The walk-in health clinic is the second owned and operated by DRMC in a Walmart. The clinic hours for walk-in care are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. No appointments are needed or taken.
For busy people who need care, especially after working hours or on weekends, the clinic will treat common health ailments and offer routine services. These include, but are not limited to, get-well services, such as respiratory illnesses, sinusitis, coughs, ear aches and bladder infections; stay well services, such as physicals for adults and students; diagnostic tests, including pregnancy, strep and drug screenings; and services, such as ear wax removal, minor wound care and suture removal.
“By joining with Walmart to operate The Clinic at Walmart, DRMC is improving access to health care for the Elk County community,” said John Sutika, president of DRMC. “Our clinic is staffed with licensed health care providers, even on nights and weekends, so families can walk in and know they will receive quality care without a long wait.”
Staffing the clinic are Margaret Swanson and Pam Ingram, both nurse practitioners.
Swanson of Kersey received her nursing diploma from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, Altoona; her bachelor’s degree from Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa; and her master’s degree in nursing from Penn State University. She completed the advanced practice cliniciain colposcopy education program with Planned Parenthood of America through the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center.
Swanson has worked at Centre Crest Nursing Home, Bellefonte; Elk Regional Medical Center, Ridgway; Centre Community Hospital, State College, Tapestry of Health/Family Planning Clinics in Philipsburg and Bellefonte; and most recently at Keystone Rural Health Consortia in Emporium where she was responsible for minor surgeries, women’s health and emergency care. She was also a teaching assistant and clinical instructor for Penn State.
A member of many nurse practitioners associations, she has also been a member of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders board and the Emergency Medical Management Corporation – EMMCO East – board. She is also certified by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology and the Perinatal Continuing Education Program and is certified in health care administration from Ohio State University and nursing management from Quorum Healthcare System.
Ingram of Weedville received her associate’s degree in nursing from Lock Haven University, her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Penn State and her master’s degree in nursing from Clarion, Edinboro and Slippery Rock Universities.
Ingram was an inpatient staff nurse and Home Health and Hospice nurse at DRMC. She was also the executive director of the Free Medical Clinic of DuBois. Most recently, she was on the staff at Oncology Hematology Associates of Northern PA, PC, a part of Hahne Regional Cancer Center. She is a member of the Tri-County Nurse Practitioner Association and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Dr. Michael Hall and Dr. Robert Schmidt will be its medical director providing oversight of the clinicians, but they will not see patients there.
“This clinic is another example of providing patients with innovative solutions to their basic health care needs,” Travis Millinder, assistant vice president of practice management at DRMC, said. “Anyone who has had an acute need, such as a minor ear ache after hours or on the weekend, will appreciate the convenience of having a medical professional available nearby without having to go to the Emergency Department or wait for an office appointment.”
Costs for each service are noted on a menu board at the front of the clinic. Insurances can be billed if it is an insurance already accepted at DRMC.
“Walmart is dedicated to serving our customers and our communities, and this type of clinic helps expand their access to quality health care,” said Bruce Shepard, Walmart’s director of healthcare innovations. “DRMC is a well-known and respected health care provider in this area, so our customers will receive quality care from people they know and trust.”
With the opening of this clinic, there are eight in-store clinics in Walmart stores in Pennsylvania. For further information about “The Clinic at Walmart”, please visit www.walmart.com/clinics.