New Northcenter Clinic to Curb Annoying Wait Times

As emergency center wait times skyrocket at a nearby North Side hospital, a local outlet for bee stings, broken bones and high fevers will soon be open to share the caseload.

But there will be more than just emergency services at Immediate MD, which is currently in the works for 3905 N. Western Ave., near the avenue's intersection with West Byron Street.

The building permit, issued in June 2012, indicates that the initial $1 million construction phase includes combining two separate retail spaces into one cohesive business. It should be ready for patients this July, representatives said Thursday.

The location will be the business' second. The first came in February to 2077 N. Clybourn Ave. in nearby Lincoln Park.

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The Northcenter site will open in the wake of a recent report that shed light on wait times at Lake View's Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Patients who head there for emergency care generally wait three times longer than the national average to see a doctor, according to a recent report by the U.S. Government website for Medicare.

It pegs the average time patients spend in the Advocate emergency area before seeing a health professional at about 92 minutes. That’s compared to the national average of 30 minutes, the Thorek Memorial Hospital time of 26 minutes and that at St. Joseph Hospital—9 minutes.

Immediate MD administrator, Brad Bohmer, says he's aware of some hospitals' above-average wait times. It's his hope that Immediate MD will be able to work collaboratively with other health professionals in the area.

"That's one of the biggest things for people ... letting them know that they're not cheating on their physician by coming to us," he said. "We want to work with them, not against them."

Bohmer says he doesn't expect patients to wait long at the new Northcenter clinic, where staff will focus on treating patients as people, not general customers or "just a number."

Immediate MD is independently owned by four doctors, who are among nine part timers that will staff the two locations. Three full-time physicians will also work for the company.

The facility boasts family-friendly, walk-in medical care, prompt treatment on a wide range of illnesses and injuries, sports physicians and convenient hours.

"Our expectations, the type of treatments we offer, the physicians and the level of service we provide at the Clybourn location ... is all going to be the same on Western," Bohmer said. "We're getting busier here; close to the point of seeing double digits fairly consistently."

More and more young professionals are seeking care at Immediate MD, he said, as well as a fair number of people from the North Center community. The nearest urgent care center to the future western clinic is Lake View Immediate care, which is near West School Street and North Lincoln Avenue.

"I initially was thinking the Clybourn one would be the busier one for us because it's surrounded by all the retail," he said. "But now, I don't know. ... There's nothing really of its kind in that (Western) area and we're already seeing patients from the zip code come in here. There's definitely a need for it."

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