Just a few hours after 3-year-old Kaelin Velasquez's little brother poked her eye, a doctor prescribed some drops and sent her home.
The young patient's swift health-care experience is expected to be a typical scenario at the newly opened same-day Northwest Medical Clinic at 320 W. Prince Road, just east of North Oracle Road.
"Our goal is to see the patient the day they want to be seen," said Penny Whitley, clinic manager.
Providing same-day medical care to children and adults can reduce visits to the emergency room and long waits in urgent-care lobbies, she noted.
The clinic — El Rio Community Health Center's 15th service site — is an extension of the $1.5 million Northwest Medical Clinic built in 2004 to replace nearby rental space, Whitley said.
"Within six months of opening, we outgrew our original site," Whitley said. "We had more patients than we could handle."
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When the 14,000-square-foot clinic opened three years ago, it included unfinished building space for the same-day clinic.
The smaller same-day clinic has its own staff of doctors and nurses, Whitley said.
Until a second physician is hired full time, Dr. Ziad Hemzawi will see most of the patients. He now gets some assistance from Dr. Trucken Miller, who said he splits his time between the new clinic and El Rio's Congress Street clinic.
Hemzawi, who works 54 hours a week, said about 50 patients visit the same-day clinic daily. That number is expected to double when the new doctor comes on board.
"We see a variety of acute problems — sore throats, ear infections, asthma, diabetes, pneumonia," Hemzawi said.
Occasionally, patients whose ailments are more suited to an emergency room end up at the same-day clinic. In such instances, patients are stabilized and transferred to a hospital by ambulance.
Walk-ins are accepted at the clinic, although staffers highly recommended making an appointment.
"We don't turn anyone away," said Hemzawi, who specializes in pediatric and adult medicine.
The clinic serves patients with or without medical insurance. As a nonprofit organization, El Rio provides medical care regardless of people's ability to pay. When patients lack private insurance, clinic staffers help them apply for publicly funded health-care coverage.
For patients who pay for their own medical care, the same-day clinic has a sliding-fee scale that starts at $20 per visit, which includes X-rays and lab tests at the same location. Children's visits are $15 each.
Another perk for same-day clinic patients: Their prescriptions can be filled on site or, if preferred, be hand-delivered later or mailed to their homes, free.
"Our pharmacy is very affordable," Hemzawi noted.
Little Kaelin Velasquez's parents, David Velasquez and Dolores Mata, said they are sold on the same-day clinic. Their daughter and 6-month-old son, David, are regular patients of El Rio doctors, and last week was the first time they'd visited the same-day clinic.
Mata said they brought their daughter in with a reddened eye, and "once we got here, we waited about five minutes to see the doctor. It's great."
If you go
What: Grand opening of El Rio Community Health Center's same-day Northwest Medical Clinic.
When: 4 to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 13.
Where: 320 W. Prince Road.
For medical appointments: Call 670-3909.
Clinic hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday-Friday.