NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Opens Expanded Adult Primary Care Clinic
Expansion improves access to care for patients and significantly reduces wait time for appointments
Oct 04, 2018
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue today announced a major expansion of its Adult Primary Care Clinic with newly repurposed space that supports the co-location of all Adult Primary Care services, improves access and continuity of care and reduces wait times for an appointment.
The recently expanded clinic, located on the second floor of the Ambulatory Care Building, has added 12 patient exam rooms and increased available space by 2,200 square feet to 13,300 square feet. It now accommodates 26 new staff members and supports an expanded collaborative care team that includes registered nurses, primary care providers, nurse practitioners, chronic disease care managers, patient navigators, patient care associates and administrative support staff. This and other recent efforts have helped improve wait times for a primary care appointment, with the average time a new patient has to wait for an appointment reduced to 14 days from 40 days.
“This needed expansion reflects our response to the community we serve and our health system’s focus on increasing timely access to primary care services,” said William Hicks, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.
“The addition of new clinical space, providers and support staff in Adult Primary Care will allow for shorter appointment wait times and better access to patients’ care teams,” said Andrew Wallach, MD, Clinical Chief of Primary Care for NYC Health + Hospitals and Clinical Director of Ambulatory Care for NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “This expansion embraces the principles of the patient-centered medical home care model, which emphasizes the physician as a leader of a multi-disciplinary care team. In particular, we welcome the arrival of a significant number of new nurses and patient navigators.”
Cutting the ribbon were (front row, from left) William Hicks, CEO; Dr. Andrew Wallach; Isaac Holmes, MD, Medical Director of the Adult Primary Care Clinic; and Ms. Mahalia Williams-Superville, RN, Head Nurse of the Adult Primary Care Clinic.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue sees 60,000 outpatient visits a year in Adult Primary Care and 500,000 outpatient visits a year overall. The co-location of Adult Primary Care services encompasses direct patient care and programs for special patient populations. Services include:
- Routine primary care, including screening for depression and the social determinants of health
- New patient services
- On-site retinal camera imaging
- Sexual health/Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prescriptions
- Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program
- Chronic disease management, including the Mobile Insulin Titration Initiative (MITI) program for insulin-requiring diabetics
- Addiction medicine/Buprenorphine treatment
- The Adult Primary Care Safety Net Clinic, an intensive primary care program for individuals with complex medical issues and unstable housing and/or other “social determinants of health” concerns.
The clinic expanded into the space formerly occupied by a different clinic that has been relocated to the Hospital Building.
Frances Joe first came to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue as a patient 21 years ago. She was seen by Dr. Wallach, who is still her primary care physician, and has been cared for by a medical team that has included psychiatry, neurosurgery, neurology, ophthalmology, speech therapy and social work.
“All of them came together with a game plan on how to save my life and help me get better. If it wasn’t for them working together, I wouldn’t have made it,” Ms. Joe said. She welcomed the new expansion. “It makes the patients more comfortable and relaxed to know things will move smoothly and quickly. Everyone should be able to get the same kind of attention and care that’s kept me here for 21 years.”