A sprained ankle can be treated at the new MedExpress in Tarentum that opens today. But patients needing follow-up care can be referred through a collaboration with the Alle-Kiski Medical Center.

"If we're going to be truly patient-centered, we need to recognize that in today's health care environment, people need specialty care and follow-up," said Erich Lipphardt, MedExpress Urgent Care vice president of development and marketing. "We see Alle-Kiski as a hospital that is recognized for its quality, for its good reputation."

The MedExpress, located near the intersection of East Tenth Avenue and Lock Street, is the 16th in the state and the 42nd nationally, Lipphardt said. Urgent care fills a need between primary care and the emergency rooms by addressing immediate but nonlife-threatening care, Lipphardt said.

MedExpress walk-in sites are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Last year, the company treated about 300,000 patients.

"We are a full-service facility," Lipphardt said. "That means there is always a physician on site, always a nurse, always an X-ray technician."

Ned Laubacher, Alle-Kiski Medical Center CEO, said this is the first collaboration with an organization outside of the West Penn Allegheny Health System, although the hospital works with nursing homes and other facilities for post-hospital care.

"We're all in the business of keeping healthy patients healthy, getting sick patients back to function and not making it worse," Laubacher said. "If we compete with each other, it makes it worse."

He said urgent care is a critical piece of creating a "medical home" for patients that connects them with a primary care doctor backed by other services.

"We see their business as a critical extension of ours, providing access points for care for patients," Laubacher said.

Alle-Kiski Medical Center operates its own urgent care center in New Kensington, AKMC Ambulatory Care Center, that offers a similar level of care to MedExpress, said Linda Jaskolka, the hospital's spokeswoman.

"We will work with (MedExpress) to continue for continuum of care that may need additional health care like admission to the hospital or diagnostics or referrals to our specialists," Jaskolka said.

Lipphardt said collaborations with hospitals increase communication to better care for patients. Other MedExpress sites have relationships with neighboring hospitals, he said.

"We fill the gap, but we don't cover everything," he said.

The MedExpress facility includes a reception area connected to several triage and treatment rooms. Procedures such as stitches, abscess drainage, workplace medical care, drug screenings, intravenous fluids and labwork can all be done on site.

Most insurance, including Medicare, is accepted.

MedExpress also is the second to convert to an electronic records system, which increases efficiency by eliminating paperwork, Lipphardt said.

The other local MedExpress site is on Freeport Road near the Highland Park Bridge in O'Hara.

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