New urgent care, primary care clinics open at Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE -- There is a new urgent care clinic in Milwaukee.

Progressive Community Health Centers has opened its urgent care center at Aurora Sinai Medical Center in Milwaukee.

The facility, located near 12th and State, will also be opening a primary care clinic next week.

Both clinics will be staffed by Progressive physicians, nurse practitioners and clinical support staff.

Aurora providers will also help staff the urgent care in its early days.

Below is a statement from Aurora:

Progressive Community Health Centers has announced the opening of an urgent care at Aurora Sinai Medical Center, to be followed June 1 by a primary care clinic. The clinics represent an expanding partnership between Progressive and Aurora Health Care that will enhance access to care for people in Milwaukee’s central city neighborhoods.

In 2015, Progressive received $1.7 million from the Aurora Health Care Better Together Fund to create two new sites to provide expanded access to primary care and urgent care services. That gift led to the new 12th Street Urgent Care and the Kilbourn Avenue Health Center.

“Increasing access to vital services like urgent care and primary care is critical to enhancing the health of our community,” said Carolynn Glocka, president, Aurora Sinai Medical Center. “With these two new Progressive clinics, not only are we treating illnesses and injuries in a convenient location, we’re also offering an array of preventive services that will enable long-term wellness.”

She said that more than 40 percent of people in Progressive’s service area don’t have a primary care medical home, and often use the emergency department – if they get care at all. Also, she noted that more than half of Aurora Sinai’s ED encounters could be better managed in other settings, such as an urgent care or primary care clinic.

The 12th Street Urgent Care, adjacent to the Aurora Sinai ED, is open 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with additional days and hours to follow in the months to come. Meanwhile, the Kilbourn Avenue Health Center will open June 1 in Suite 124 of the physician office building, with hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with Aurora to provide these new access points to help ensure patients get the care they need, when and where they need it,” said Jenni Sevenich, CEO of Progressive Community Health Centers.

The clinics will be staffed by Progressive physicians, nurse practitioners and clinical support staff.  Early on, Aurora providers will also help staff the urgent care. Anyone will be eligible to seek care at either clinic. Progressive’s financial counselors will verify insurance status and discuss options for those who do not have insurance.

Progressive was one of more than 40 organizations across Aurora’s footprint to receive support from the Better Together Fund in 2015. Expanding primary care access was a key area of focus for the fund.

A community open house for the two new clinics is expected to occur later this summer.