Upper Keys residents have a new health care option the next time they slip, fall, and bump their head. Advanced Urgent Care is opening its office in the Keys in Key Largo and its leading doctor and founder, Bruce Boros, said the prices can be nearly one-sixth the cost of the same service in an emergency department.
The clinic’s grand opening is Friday, June 15. Initial operating hours will be Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. The clinic hopes to expand hours in the future.
“I want to protect my patients from the high costs of health care,” said Boros, who opened his first urgent care center in Key West in 2013. “That’s the reason I started the clinic – it felt like something I needed to do for my patients.”
By opting to visit an urgent care center, patients can find more cost-effective ways to meet their health care needs while not trading away the chance to meet with an experienced professional. Reducing the number of patients in emergency departments who aren’t in need of emergency care also allows hospital staff to focus on the patients who are in most need.
Going to the urgent care for certain medical needs can spare patients the wait times often experienced when visiting the emergency room. Advanced Urgent Care wait times are typically 45 minutes, said Boros.
The clinic’s two physicians – Dr. Steven Lawyer and Dr. Zivko Gajic – have decades of experience in family medicine and emergency medicine. The daily staff will always include at least one of the two physicians and a nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, radiology team, and veteran nursing staff.
“Every nurse that’s been hired has at least five years emergency room experience,” said Administrator of Nursing Sherri Mather. Mather has worked in urgent cares and emergency rooms for more than 20 years.
The medical team can perform examinations and annual physicals, on-site blood work, CT scans, digital X-rays, ultrasounds, lung cancer screenings, sexually transmitted disease screenings, cardiac calcium scoring and telemetry. The clinic can also perform minor surgeries and procedures like stitches, incisions, and draining. A cardiologist by profession, Boros, has also implemented his own system of diagnosing heart attacks for patients complaining of chest pains.
Dr. Steven Lawyer has served the Upper Keys for decades.
Advance Urgent Care does some follow up work with patients, and makes recommendations, but otherwise, forwards test results and findings to their primary care physicians.
“It’s a great way to get minor emergencies taken care of in a cost-efficient rapid manner without sitting in an ER with people who are having major medical problems,” said Mather.
Level One urgent care centers must meet and maintain staffing, capability, and facility requirements to obtain accreditation. Advanced Urgent Care accepts most insurance providers, including local providers. The clinic does not accept Medicaid. Self-paying customers can find prices of services and screenings posted in the front lobby. The clinic can also provide estimates based on insurance information. Advanced Urgent Care is located at MM 100.5 bayside, next to Key Largo Chocolates. Call 305-294-0011 for more information or visit urgentcarefloridakeys.com/keylargo.
