Starting on Thursday, Pleasure Island residents and visitors alike will have access to 24/7 health care.

The South Baldwin Regional Medical Center’s Urgent Care Center in Gulf Shores, located on Alabama on Alabama 59 just north of the Fort Morgan Road intersection also has a variety of imaging procedures available. Residents can get those services there instead of driving to the main Hospital in Foley.

“I think it’s a real convenience to the community,” CFO Keith Newton said. “It’s really kind of our commitment to provide health care to the island and provide additional services to the island so we’re real excited about that.”

Local leaders, some of whom have expressed an interest in a hospital on the island, believe this is a huge step for locals and tourists alike.

“Absolutely wonderful,” Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said. “This is something this community has needed particularly during the resort season. I think it’s great for our local residents, but where we really needed it is when we were so crowded that you can’t hardly get into the emergency room in Foley. It’s great step and we really appreciate them.”

Newton is quick to point out the center is not an emergency room, but is for walk-in care. It will, however, keep medical situations that are not necessarily emergencies out of the Foley facility.

“What we do is provide a bridge for people to come in and get the initial assessment and see if they need to go to a hospital or to an emergency room,” Newton said.

Orange Beach City Admnistrator Ken Grimes says a co-pay for a visit to an emergency room for city employees is $500. The co-pay for a visit to a walk-in urgent care center is $30.

“Having a 24-7 urgent care center in a resort town is a great move as our 24-hour cycle of tourist and resident movement is different from traditional cities,” Grimes said. “Businesses are open to the wee hours of the morning and then travel home and there always movement at night with contractors, cleaning crews.”

Dr. Marirose Olson, a family practice physician in Gulf Shores believes the clinic will provide invaluable services.

“I think it’s going to be huge because it’ll keep people out of the ERs,” she said.  “If somebody feels they need to be seen and it can’t wait until in the morning. It will keep the ER from being bogged down by people who aren’t emergent.”

But Newton and his staff want to provide more than just the urgent care. Many patients, he says, use the clinic as their doctor’s office and have developed a repertoire with Dr. Sheila Dillard.

“Dr. Dillard is seen as a local physician or as their physician because a lot of people will come back and see her at the Urgent Care instead of going to another clinic because they feel like that’s their doctor,” he said.

The 24/7 access will provide a major convenience for local residents who don’t want to miss time at work.

“If you’ve got a job and you need to be there at 8 o’clock, you can come here at 6 in the morning, if it’s something real small and you need to be seen and don’t have to worry about missing work,” he said.

Another plus, Newton says, is the variety of doctors that will be working in the clinic. Doctors from a variety of fields will be working shifts at the clinic. In addition to that, the clinic doctors have access the doctors at the hospital in the variety of fields.

“It’s kind of a blended type atmosphere with our physicians,” he said. “We have a full-time physician, but we also have other physicians from critical care, basically a broad spectrum of physicians, a broad range of experience who can handle a lot of types of situations.

“Like Dr. (John) Mcatee. If can handle anything in an intensive care unit, he’s pretty much going to be able to handle anything here that he sees walk through the door.”

Cooperation between the clinic and the main hospital is a key componentDirector of Outlying Clinics Lisa Stowe also points out that the clinic can do occupational medicine such as pre-employment health screenings, drug tests and workman’s compensation cases for those injured on the job. As far as imaging, the clinic has CT catscan, diagnostic x-rays, ultrasound, dexascan or bone density, digital mammography and ABI studies.

The marketing team of Rachel Kaiser and Kim Neal are working to make sure visitors know about the clinic’s new 24/7 status by getting brochures and other information to companies who handle vacation properties.

“We have a good working relationship with the real estate companies and have worked very hard with them to get the information out, educating the tourists as they hit the beach so they know and letting them know we should be their first stop,” Kaiser said. “I think that’s where our focus is right now.”

“We’re doing a lot with the local schools to get the word out,” Neal said. “And of course with the welcome centers and chambers of commerces as well.”