Robbinsville – For some, news of urgent care services rebooting in Graham County might have been the greatest Valentine’s Day gift they could have received.
The newly rechristened “Graham County Urgent Care and Family Practice” began seeing walk-in patients Tuesday, ending months of speculation that once the previous tenant of the county-owned building – Smoky Mountain Urgent Care, under the direction of Dr. David Castor – vacated the premises, immediate medical care would have to be sought elsewhere.
The narrative never had a lot of meat on the bone, so to speak. With Castor losing a lawsuit against the county in August, the Bryson City-based operation had until Jan. 27 to vacate the location at 21 S. Main St., in Robbinsville – but the county had already began working on a backup provider for the facility. Castor had a notice posted on the front door Dec. 27 about leaving Graham County, which understandably frightened local residents that depending on the convenient location for medical needs.
The county filed suit against Castor over several contractual violations. Three agreements existed: urgent-care services with late and weekend hours, imaging services and inmate care for those housed at the Graham County Jail. The hours at Smoky Mountain Urgent Care in Robbinsville slowly became more and more reduced, however, and complaints of lengthy wait times – both in person and on the phone – led to the county taking a closer look at the day-to-day operations.
Castor filed a countersuit. After losing the suit in August, the judgment was entered Dec. 2 and Smoky Mountain Urgent Care had until Jan. 3 to appeal. When that date passed without action, the clock began ticking.
Dubbed a “soft” opening – as there are still a few major matters to tidy up – Graham County Urgent Care will be operating with a skeleton crew of sorts, though each member of the three-person staff are familiar faces: Dedie Millsaps Barker has been a nurse in the county for 26 years, Meggan Smith is a nurse practitioner who is also juggling the role of temporary county health director and Emily McKeehan is a phlebotomist.
All three are eager to provide services to the county that ultimately were only missed for 2 ½ weeks, even if temporary bumps in the road may flare up.
“If we have to close here for a few minutes because I have to run to the health department for an emergency, it’s not because we’re slacking,” Smith said of her dual role. “I’m going to do my best to prevent that, but some things you just cannot anticipate. There is a wonderful staff up there (at the health department), so I’m sure they’re going to be able to handle things.
Operating hours will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; and 1-6 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (828) 479-7777.
The clinic will operate for a few days, before shutting down to install a check-in kiosk inside the front lobby Monday and Tuesday. The “official” opening will be held Wednesday. A patient portal and texting/calling service is also in the works, which should help alleviate some of the issues experienced under the previous administration.
“It will take a while for us to get our lab up and running, but Emily has the perfect personality to be a receptionist, so we selected her,” Smith said of McKeehan.
Staffing will be limited to just Barker, McKeehan and Smith for the first 4-6 weeks. At this time, Graham County Urgent Care can only accept cash or check. A credit-card reader is expected to arrive soon. Agreements with insurance providers can take between 3-6 months to finalize, so office visits will be $50 self-pay – but the facility is accepting Medicaid and Medicare.
“We’re doing trial by fire,” Smith said of the financial aspect. “We’re starting from scratch.”
“We’re cramming three months of opening into three weeks,” Barker added.
A X-ray machine that belonged to Castor is the only piece of equipment that will need to be replaced, but one is on order. In addition to family and urgent care, the practice will also be utilizing equipment that sat dormant during the latter part of Smoky Mountain Urgent Care’s operation in the building: a urinalysis machine, ultrasound, mammogram, Sofia 2 (a machine that provides rapid COVID-test results), an A1C reader, a CBC (complete blood count) analyzer and a CT scanner.
A memorial plaque will also be placed in the radiology department in memory of Robin Reynolds, a technician who set the standards for radiology inside the facility. Reynolds passed away in January.
Additionally, Dr. Scott Bjerkness is continuing his chiropractic practice inside the building, but he has re-located to just inside the front entrance.
His hours are from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Mondays and 8:30 a.m. to noon; and 1:30-5:30 p.m. Thursdays.
Mississippi-based Dr. David Booth, who once worked at Tallulah Health Clinic, will be the acting physician over Graham County Urgent Care. A part-time resident of Nantahala, Booth and the county have been in negotiations since early January over a contract.
“Dr. Booth has many wonderful visions in the pipeline for urgent care to serve the needs of the community,” said Juanita Colvard, director of Graham County Transit and an advocate for urgent care services.