Area residents in need of after-hours and weekend health care will have another alternative when Andalusia Regional Hospital opens its walk-in clinic this week.

Hospital CEO John Yanes said the clinic is designed to improve convenient access to health care when a primary care physician may not be available.

“Our goal is to help people stay healthy,” he said.

The clinic is different from the emergency room, he said. The ER is a 24-hour resource that requires personnel with highly specialized skills. Consequently, it is more expensive to operate.

“Dependent upon your health care plan, using the walk-in clinic as opposed to the ER could mean a $50 co-pay compared to $300.”

The clinic is designed to include capabilities for radiology and lab work, Yanes said.

“There are a number of preliminary diagnostics they can provide, and it’s a much more economical option (than the ER),” he said.

Office manager Lori Varner said it is not the clinic’s goal to compete with primary care physicians.

“We will share information with primary care physicians,” she said. “They will receive a note from us with an update on the patient’s condition.”

The clinical staff includes two medical doctors; two family practice nurse practitioners, one internal medicine doctor, and a pediatrician, who will take lake hours in the local clinic.

For those patients who need a primary care physician, the clinic will have a list available, and Dr. Rainer Birk and Jill Elmore, CNP, will see patients in the clinic.

“Our mission is to keep our community healthy,” Yanes said. “This is one more way of providing access when it is needed, close to home.”

The extended hour clinic will be open from 10 a.m. -7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. on  Sundays.