This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: WellNow has expanded well beyond central New York. (May 2023) |
WellNow Urgent Care, formerly Five Star Urgent Care, is a conglomerate of walk-in urgent care clinics that serve as alternatives to emergency rooms across Upstate New York. WellNow Urgent Care was founded in Big Flats, New York in 2012 and relocated its headquarters to Chicago, Illinois in 2022. WellNow employs very few physicians or registered nurses, opting for their practices to be mid-level-driven- by physician assistants, medical assistants, and LPNs being utilized as clinical staff instead.
 | |
| Company type | Privately Held |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Dr. John Radford |
| Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 213[2] |
| Website | wellnow.com |
Description
editWellNow Urgent Care, is a conglomerate of walk-in urgent care clinics that serve as alternatives to emergency rooms across Upstate New York. The addition of locations in Cicero, Fairmount and Fayetteville made it the largest urgent care provider in Central New York.[3] Services provided by WellNow Urgent Care include treatment for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.[4][5]
Unlike most urgent care and medical practices, WellNow employs very few physicians or registered nurses, opting for their practices to be mid-level-driven- by physician assistants, medical assistants, and LPNs being utilized as clinical staff instead.[citation needed]
History
editWellNow Urgent Care was founded in Big Flats, New York in 2012 as "Five Star Urgent Care" by Dr. John Radford, a former emergency room physician. [6][3] In 2014, WellNow Urgent Care expanded to six locations.[7] That same year, the company began offering patients the ability to view wait times for its facilities on its website.[8]
In 2016, the company opened another location in Liverpool, New York. The Liverpool location differs from the other locations because it offers specialized pediatric urgent care in addition to the normal urgent care services. In 2017, WellNow Urgent Care opened one more location in Vestal, New York. In 2018, the company rebranded as WellNow Urgent Care.[9]
In 2022, WellNow relocated its headquarters to Chicago, Illinois, as a result of further expansion.[citation needed]
Locations
editWellNow Urgent Care primarily serves Central and Western New York, with locations in the following communities: Big Flats (serving Big Flats, Elmira, Corning, Horseheads and Painted Post); Cicero (serving Cicero, Liverpool and North Syracuse); Fairmount (serving Camillus, Fairmount and West Syracuse); Fayetteville (serving Fayetteville, DeWitt, Manlius, Chittenango and East Syracuse); Ithaca (serving Ithaca, Lansing, Dryden, Newfield, Trumansburg, Spencer and Slaterville); Jamestown (serving Jamestown, Salamanca and Warren, Pennsylvania) and Vestal (serving Vestal, Binghamton and Endicott).[10][4][11] WellNow also has locations across Michigan (serving the Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor, Lansing, Jackson, Detroit, Cadillac, and Alpena areas), Ohio (serving the Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, and Youngstown areas), central Indiana (serving Kokomo, Lafayette, Muncie, Anderson, Indianapolis, and Bloomington), and Illinois (serving Chicago, Crestwood, Melrose Park, Decatur, Collinsville, O'Fallon, and Swansea).
References
edit- ^ Drury, Tracy. "WellNow expansion leads to corporate HQ move from WNY". bizjournals.com/buffalo. Archived from the original on 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ "Five Star Urgent Care Locations". Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ a b Mulder, James T. (September 9, 2014). "Growing urgent care chain arrives in Fayetteville; next stop Clay". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ a b Epstein, Jonathan D. (August 30, 2012). "Medical facility expands". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ Yee, Tracy; Lechner, Amanda E.; Boukus, Ellyn R. (July 2013). "The Surge in Urgent Care Centers: Emergency Department Alternative or Costly Convenience?". Center for Studying Health System Change. 26. Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
- ^ Mulder, James T. (February 5, 2014). "Urgent care chain expanding in Onondaga County to serve anticipated surge in patients". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ Reinhardt, Erin (September 5, 2014). "Five Star Urgent Care opens Fayetteville office". Central New York Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
- ^ Drury, Tracey (October 3, 2014). "S. Tier urgent care firm intros online tool in real time". Buffalo Business First. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
- ^ "Five Star Urgent Care rebrands as WellNow Urgent Care in a partnership with Aspen Dental". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ Phillips, Dennis. "Five Star Undergoes $500,000 Expansion". The Post-Journal. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
- ^ Reinhardt, Erin. "Five Star Urgent Care continues expansion with Camillus office". Central New York Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.