Dr. Richard Merkin, President & CEO Heritage Provider Network Creates Jobs, Offers Expanded Healthcare and Emergency Services to Benefit Burbank Community

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Jul 26, 2010, 02:02 ET

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Richard Merkin, President and CEO, Heritage Provider Network, has initiated a proactive patient care program at Lakeside Community Healthcare by extending hours at their Burbank Urgent Care facility, creating new jobs for doctors, nurses, LVNs and intake workers. Lakeside Community Healthcare is part of the HPN family of medical groups.

Lakeside Community Healthcare has seen a significant increase in patients utilizing their urgent care facility in Burbank, creating the opportunity to add additional hours and services. Lakeside Community Healthcare will also create new jobs to accommodate the new hours and services. Urgent care is the bridge between the primary physician and the emergency room. Patients seeking urgent care treatment for sudden illness or injury that requires immediate care, but is not serious enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room. These services are provided on a walk-in basis, with extended hours access above and beyond that of a traditional doctor's office. Urgent care is best used when a person's primary care doctor is not available, or the injury or illness is beyond the scope of the doctor's office. Urgent care fees incurred by the patient are much less than hospital emergency room fees and the wait times in urgent care are generally shorter, giving the patient better care, shorter wait time, easier access than the emergency room.

"Our goal is to serve the needs of our community by offering the best quality care and extended medical access possible, " said Dr. Merkin. "We are constantly evaluating how can we do it better for our patients, and extending the hours at Lakeside's Burbank Urgent Care Facility will give them assurances their medical needs are being better served. I'm delighted we can offer these opportunities."

"At a critical time when many are concerned about losing quality affordable healthcare, HPN and Lakeside are adding urgent care hours to offer our business community and residents additional opportunities and services for care while creating more jobs to benefit our economic base, " said The Honorable Anja Reinke, Mayor of Burbank. "We applaud and encourage them for their positive financial impact on our community's healthcare delivery system."

Family practice, general practice, pediatric or internal medicine physicians, as well as nurse practitioners or physician assistants, provide urgent care medical services. Common conditions treated through urgent care include but are not limited to, coughs, colds, sore throats, flu, fractures and sprains, cuts and scrapes, ear infections, work injuries and headaches/migraines.

"This is step one in our long-term plan to institute additional services in our Urgent Care Facilities," said Steven Goldberg, Senior Executive Officer at Lakeside Community Healthcare. "In addition to extending hours of our urgent care hours of operation, we will continue to evaluate other aspects of our healthcare delivery system as we look for new ways of expanding service and patient access, including adding more doctors and office locations."

In an effort to improve the overall quality of health, Lakeside Community Healthcare is dedicated to providing access to medical care as the first and most important step in promoting the community's good health, and expanded access to urgent care is a large part of that. The more options available for the delivery of healthcare, the more likely a person is to seek care and the end result is a healthier community.

Lakeside Community Healthcare Urgent Care/Burbank is now open seven days a week, from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., including weekends and holidays. On-site services include X-ray and laboratory.

Lakeside Community Healthcare Urgent Care Center-Burbank
191 South Buena Vista Street, Suite 150, Burbank, CA 91505
818 295-5920

About HPN

Heritage Provider Network, Inc. (HPN) is on the cutting edge of the accountable care model of health care delivery: coordinated, patient-doctor centric, integrated health care systems that represent the future of health care in the United States. HPN develops programs and services that are responsive to the healthcare needs of today's patient. HPN designs its networks to offer patients a comprehensive range of medical care in convenient locations. It organizes and manages medical groups and independent practice associations, integrating with hospitals and ancillary care providers. This system represents a workable, successful business model that has been duplicated with medical groups, IPAs and medical facilities throughout California. HPN is dedicated to quality, affordable health care and putting patients' wellness first.

SOURCE Heritage Provider Network, Inc.