Michael Kozar, the chief executive officer of the Carroll County Memorial Hospital in Carrollton, has announced that the hospital will be bringing a new medical facility to Vevay.
“What we’re going to be putting in is what we call an ‘Express Care’,” Michael Kozar said. “It is basically a walk in clinic. We opened one up over here as part of our Carroll County family practice back last summer, in about July, and we’ve had a lot of success.”
Michael Kozar said that the Switzerland County Express Care will be located on Main Street across from the courthouse in the building that formerly held the office of Dr. Marc Willage.
“It will basically be a primary care clinic that you don’t need an appointment for,” he said. “It’s not technically an urgent care, mainly because of insurance reasons. We’re going to have a nurse practitioner over there that patients will be able to walk in and see without an appointment.”
As for hours of operation, Michael Kozar said that as the clinic grows, more hours are possible.
“Right now we’re looking from about 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,” he said.
Michael Kozar said that the goal of those involved is to get the clinic open by March 2nd of this year, but there are still several hurdles to clear before that happens.
“Whether that’s (the March 1st opening) possible depends on us getting a business license and provider numbers, and we’ve got to get the nurse practitioner an Indiana license, so there’s a lot to be done,” Michael Kozar said. “Our goal is March 1st, but it depends on how long it takes to get all of those things. I’m thinking if there are delays, it won’t be much more than a week or two. At the worst, we’re seeing a mid-March time period.”
The arrival of another healthcare option for the residents of the community is a positive for the county, along with the medical practice of Dr. Scott Frede and the nurse practitioner that is at the Switzerland County Nurse-Managed Clinic.
“We’ve always had a great relationship with Switzerland County,” Michael Kozar said. “One of our physicians, Dr. Sherrell Nunnelley, serves as the medical director for the EMS. We’ve always had a great relationship, and we do, currently, the occupational medicine for Belterra. When we thought about opening up an Express Care in Vevay, we starting looking at it, and we feel that it will be a good addition because of the relationship that we have with Belterra and EMS. We think this is a service we can offer the community, to provide some alternatives to what already exists over there for patients who want to get or need medical treatment.”
Randy See, the executive director of Switzerland County EMS, said that the clinic will be a good addition to the community.
“I see this as a positive thing for the people of the community,” Randy See said. “They’re not coming here to compete with the doctor or the nurse-managed clinic, they’re just coming here to give people another option and it’s an affordable healthcare option, and I think it’s good for folks. We are always in need of more medical care nearby as opposed to having to travel to another county.”
Michael Kozar also said that if the clinic is successful, he sees in growing in the future.
“We hope that if it is successful, that we will eventually put a doctor in Vevay, also,” he said. “That’s our goal, to build the practice to where we would have a nurse practitioner and a physician located over there. We felt that starting off, to see how well the community accepts us, that we would start off with a nurse practitioner and see how that would go.”
He also said that he plans coming to Vevay in the very near future so that he can meet members of county government and others leaders in the community and share his goals for now and in the future.
“I’m hoping to come over next week and schedule some appointments with people like (Commissioner) Steve Lyons and (Councilman) Glenn Scott; Sheriff Nathan Hughes and Chief James Richards. We’ll meet with School Superintendent Mike Jones to see if there’s some way we can be working with the schools and helping them with their students,” Michael Kozar said.
“We’re certainly not trying to come in and push anybody out,” he continued. “We know that there’s a nurse practitioner clinic at the health department, and Dr. Frede’s office. All we’re looking to do is to supplement what they are already doing. We’re not looking to come in and disrupt anything. We looked at the relationship we have with Belterra and with EMS, and concluded that this may be a good opportunity for us and for the people of the community.”
The final approval by the board of Carroll County Memorial Hospital was given last week; and the lease has been signed and the deposit has been paid. They are in the process of acquiring the furnishings that they will need and the nurse practitioner has been hired – so the Express Care clinic is a reality.
“We’re just very excited to be a part of the Switzerland County community,” Michael Kozar said.