For Immediate Release

Area Patients Have After Hours Option

Ardmore — It’s six o’clock on a Friday evening and your child has a fever and an earache. What do you do? You can’t wait until Monday, but it’s not serious enough for a visit to the ER. Now there are options for minor emergencies in the evening and on the weekend at Mercy After Hours at the Wellness Center.

The convenience of Mercy After Hours is something Ardmore’s John Kriet experienced recently. “It was late on a Saturday and I had a pretty bad gash on my leg from working in the yard. I couldn’t get it to stop bleeding,” said Kriet, president of K&S Holdings. “My wife and I were headed to the ER at 7:45 in the evening when I remembered we now have Mercy After Hours available.”

When Kriet and his wife arrived at Mercy After Hours, they were immediately seen and his cut was dressed. “It was a crummy, rainy night, but the co-workers were so nice and quick to help me even at the late hour,” said Kriet. “I was on my way home with plenty of instructions within 20 minutes. And then I received follow-up calls at home, so they could make sure I was still doing well.”

The ease of his appointment was aided by the fact that Mercy after Hours already had all of his medical records available, thanks to Mercy’s integrated electronic health record. Kriet, a patient at Memorial Medical Clinic, didn’t have to complete any paperwork.

Cuts aren’t the only thing Mercy After Hours can treat. If you or a family member is suffering from a broken bone, flu, cold, strep throat, ear ache or any other minor emergency, Mercy can help.

“If it weren’t for Mercy After Hours, I would have ended up in the ER. It would have been such a waste of the ER’s time because my injury just wasn’t that severe,” said Kriet. “I like that Mercy has given me another option when I need help in the evening or on a weekend.”

Mercy After Hours at the Wellness Center, located at 1001 15 Avenue NW, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (580) 223-3737.

Mercy Memorial Health Center is a member of Mercy Health System of Oklahoma and the Sisters of Mercy Health System.

Press release dated: February 5, 2010