by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
For many years, the freestanding building along Hendricks Avenue near San Jose Boulevard was a convenience store. Today, it’s home to the newest Solantic Urgent Care in Northeast Florida.
Thursday morning, Solantic officially opened the basic medical facility, with some medical help.
About two years ago, Solantic CEO Karen Bowling and Baptist Health Executive Vice President and COO John Wilbanks began an informal discussion about a joint venture between the largest hospital system and largest urgent care operation in the area.
A year later, those talks intensified and a deal was struck. In January, Solantic began work remodeling the former convenience store.
“We move fast,” said Mark Reddinger, regional manager for Solantic.
Founded in June 2001 by Bowling with the financial backing of Rick Scott, a former executive with Columbia/HCA Bowling met when both were in Nashville, Solantic has grown to 31 centers in Florida with 525 employees. Twelve centers are in Northeast Florida and No. 13 will open in May at Beach and Hodges boulevards.
Bowling says the joint venture is a win-win for both companies.
“It means we are equal partners in the operation,” said Bowling, who was a television news anchor in Jacksonville before spending 12 years as head of public relations for Memorial Hospital. “They own 50 percent of the North Florida operations and we own 50 percent. We split all costs and profits.”
For the uninsured, Solantic offers enough basic services at affordable prices that most can visit a center for anything from the flu to a broken wrist. Those with insurance who choose to visit a Solantic, or need to because it’s a weekend and the primary care physician’s office is closed, the partnership automatically gives them access to the Baptist Health system that includes 42 primary care facilities and five hospitals in the area.
Bowling credits the relationship she has enjoyed with people in the Baptist system for making the joint venture possible.
“They have always been respectful and have a great reputation. We have similar values and goals and I have known the senior management team for a long time,” she said, adding her first meeting with Wilbanks went very well. “He was very welcoming and receptive. We had meetings with their board and various physician departments. He wanted to make sure it was a win-win and everybody was on board.
“The beauty of the deal is neither of us had to do it to be successful. As Hugh Greene (Baptist Health president and CEO) said, ‘one and one can make three.’ That is so true.”
“Urgent care is a dimension of healthcare delivery that Baptist considers important to include as part of our comprehensive community health system. As we have studied urgent care and considered many strategies for how to most effectively offer this service to the community, Solantic has emerged as the natural choice,” said Greene.
“Solantic is distinguished by the fact that board-certified physicians staff each of its centers. In addition, its high level of patient satisfaction is one of many indicators that Karen Bowling and her team have built a highly effective and successful model for urgent care.
“While the services we offer are different, Solantic and Baptist Health’s mission and values are very similar. The partnership will allow Baptist and Solantic to create a more integrated network that connects urgent care to the broader resources of a comprehensive health system.
Greene said Baptist intends to make it easy for Solantic patients who need follow-up care to leave the urgent care center with an appointment to a primary care or similarly appropriate physician in their hands.
“In essence, while always honoring the patient’s choice, we will seek to make the referral process an effortless and seamless one for the patient. Our collective vision is to help more people manage their ongoing health needs. This partnership will allow us to coordinate care and focus on ways to reduce the costs of healthcare for the benefit of the patients,” he said.
When designing the new Solantic, everyone was taken into consideration. There are three big flat-screen televisions, including one in a children’s area; TVs in the examination room to watch while waiting; an X-ray machine; a procedure room; a drug screening lab; and a reception area that includes a menu of services offered and their cost. There is also a full-time doctor on staff as well as a center manager and medical support staff. There is a monitor that allows patients to check their waiting time.
Solantic has even gone high-tech in how it reaches patients.
“You can register on-line and we will text you so you don’t have to wait in the waiting room,” said Bowling, adding the facility has a three-day feel-better policy. “That’s the single most important thing I love. I look at other retailers. They stand behind their product. We should, too. We did about $1 million worth of free visits last year.”
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