HOSPITAL OFFERS TWO-TIER EMERGENCY SERVICE

St. Francis Medical Center now offers a two-tier treatment system with the creation of a new "minor" emergency service called Convenient Care.

Convenient Care guarantees treatment for qualifying emergency room patients within one hour or the doctor and room fee of $35 is free, hospital officials said. The new service began today.

Convenient Care is housed within the hospital's existing emergency department. The area has been remodeled to accommodate the two levels of service.

Charles H. Pancoast, medical director of emergency services at St. Francis, said he expects Convenient Care to fill an existing need for patient care. "We've seen an increased need for a minor emergency service among patients who have no local physician," Pancoast said.

The service will also be an option for those patients who may prefer Convenient Care's evening hours, said Linda Brown, director of emergency services at the medical center.

The service is offered from 2-10 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Pancoast said that Convenient Care will be open when most private practitioners are closed.

Convenient Care's base fee of $35 includes room and emergency physician fees but does not include other services, like laboratory charges, X-ray fees, and supplies.

Pancoast said the service is designed to move patients through the system quickly.

"One of the major complaints about typical emergency room services is the long wait," he said.

Brown said, "We are responding to what people say they need. We are trying to keep the people who have minor illnesses from waiting several hours for treatment. No one ever really questioned waiting with a soar throat when someone else had a heart attack. But they knew if they could be seen, they could be on their way quickly."

Because of the lower cost and guaranteed one-hour wait, only some patients will be eligible for Convenient Care.

"A triage nurse at the front end will sort the patients out to see what the condition is," Brown said.

Convenient Care will deal with patients who have illnesses and injuries such as the common cold and flu symptoms, minor cuts, bruises, minor burns, bites, stings, sprains and simple eye irritations.

The clock begins after the initial screening once a patient is registered in the computer.

"If we don't get you in and out in under an hour, we will waive the base fee," Brown said.

Bills for other services, like X-rays or lab tests, will still be charged.

"This guarantee is not to give away service, but to truly show our commitment to do a good job," Brown said.

St. Francis has hired an additional emergency room doctor and will provide double physician coverage in the emergency room during Convenient Care hours. Jerry L. Goddard, a member of the medical center's emergency department in the 1980s, is rejoining the staff. He and the department's other five physicians will see rotating duty as Convenient Care physicians.

Brown said the medical center isn't trying to compete with local physicians. "Patients will be referred back to their family doctors for follow-up care," she said.

Some private physicians already refer patients with minor problems to the emergency room during evening and weekend hours, Brown said.

"Through Convenient Care, we're able to treat those patients at a lower cost than if they had been seen as standard emergency room patients," she said. "Our goal is to provide treatment for the immediate problem, not to take the place of the private practitioner by offering ongoing treatment."