GUILDERLAND — A new Guilderland urgent care center has received a highly-coveted accreditation through the Urgent Care Association.
Located on 2080 Western Avenue in Hamilton Square, it originally opened in April and is independently owned by Jonathan S. Halpert who expressed both excitement and gratitude for the distinction – the Accreditation-Comprehensive Scope.
It has become the first urgent care organization in the Capital District to receive this, according to Halpert.
“I’m really happy and we’re all really proud because we had to get through a lot of hurdles since opening,” he said. “We’re a small organization and we’re thrilled.”
Priority 1 Urgent Care provides patients access to digital X-Ray, EKG, IV Fluids and medications, as well as on-site and reference laboratory testing.
It also participates with numerous locally-accepted health insurance plans like CDPHP, MVP and Medicare; patients can walk in for unscheduled appointments and receive extensive medical attention too.
The process of receiving the accreditation was not always smooth though.
“We had chosen to undergo a high level of scrutiny by the accrediting body where they came in and evaluated all aspects of the business like our clinical professional services, and having great equipment and licensed specialists on hand,” Halpert said. “There are standards that must be met and prescribe to the accrediting body. It’s a really deep dive into quality, business practices and care, and it supposedly allows to give a potential customer a higher level of assurance of what they expect here.”
Halpert has been involved in urgent care, health policy and administration for around a dozen years now, including having held positions at St. Peter’s Health Partners, St. Peter’s Hospital and the North East Regional Urgent Care Association.
He has also long been aware of the importance and benefit of being accredited.
“I knew that it’s good to get some distinctions under our belt if possible,” he said. “Sometimes people use those distinctions to make decisions about coming to us.”
He also felt grateful for his fellow colleagues and perceived the work as “very much a team sport and it’s impossible to run it by yourself. Urgent care is a 24-hours, seven-days a week proposition, and we’re open most holidays so we have lots of people power to drive it forward. From nurse practitioners and medical assistants to registered nurses, for example.”
Looking ahead, Halpert exuded optimism and concluded, “By virtue of being accredited, I’d like the public to be aware that not only do we feel we’re an excellent resource for their medical needs, but the accrediting organization also agrees with that. Hopefully, that gives the public a measure of confidence to choose us moving forward.”
For more information, visit www.priority1urgentcare.com.
