Primary Urgent Care accepting, treating patients in Utica

UTICA — Utica’s newest walk-in health-care clinic has been accepting and treating patients since early July.Primary Urgent Care on July 5 formally launched operations at 1908 Genesee St. in Utica.

The space was previously home to Mohawk Valley Health System’s Genesee Urgent Care and Independent Urgent Care, says Jeremy Enck, CEO of Primary Urgent Care.

The clinic’s website describes Primary Urgent Care as “an alternative to the emergency room and your family doctor for minor injuries, ailments, flu shots and physicals.”

The office of Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri, in a June 30 news release, called the facility the area’s “only independently owned urgent-care clinic” that will treat non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses “at a fraction of the wait time of an emergency room.”

The health-care clinic has 12 full-time employees and 17 per-diem employees.

The per-diem workers, such as nurses, physicians, radiation technologists, medical assistants, and receptionists, “fill in the gaps” where the clinic needs coverage, says Enck.

The providers include a family practice physician, who is also president and owner of the medical practice involved. They also include nurse practitioners, radiology technicians, phlebotomists/medical assistants, nurses, receptionists, and a practice leader.

A medical practice and a management company own Primary Urgent Care, says Enck.

Dr. Rebecca LaValley, a full-time physician at Primary Urgent Care, owns MV Medical Practice, the medical practice involved in the clinic’s ownership. The management company, Upstate Providers, LLC, includes Enck and other “silent” partners and investors in the clinic’s ownership, he says.

“If you’re not a physician, you can’t own a medical practice in the state of New York,” he adds, citing the reason for the two entities involved in the clinic’s ownership.

The health-care providers take care of the patients, while the management company handles the business operations, such as advertising, operating capital, and information-technology support.

Upstate Providers leases its 5,000-square-foot space from building owner Gene Romano, Enck says.

“We secured the building in November 2015,” he says. The renovation work started in mid-April, which continued until late June.

The owners spent about $500,000 to launch the operations of Primary Urgent Care.

“We leveraged the value of our [parent] company, Fortus Healthcare Resources, to gain the [funding] with capitalists,” Enck says.

Besides his leadership role with Primary Urgent Care, Enck is also the president and CEO of Utica–based Fortus Healthcare Resources, a national health-care staffing agency.

Fortus has operated in Utica for about 20 years but does “very limited work” in the Mohawk Valley, he says. One of Enck’s business partners “had a vision” for the urgent-care clinic to “give back” to the Utica community, he adds.

When asked to describe the relationship between Fortus Healthcare Resources and the clinic, Enck says Fortus provides the staffing services to make sure the clinic is “well-staffed.”

“Some … people here work for both companies,” says Enck, referring to colleagues who work in compliance and human resources for the clinic’s management company.

Primary Urgent Care is open seven days a week, and requires no appointment. Equipped with X-ray and laboratory equipment, it can treat “common” ailments that include colds, cough, and flu, along with sports injuries. The clinic also provides preventive care, testing, and physicals.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com