Family Walk-In Clinic extends hours, services

by Jan K. Allen

SBJ Contributing Writer

Daniel J. Burke, DO, FACEP, opened his Family Walk-in Clinic at 4049 S. Campbell, Sept. 1, 1997, with six patients coming through the doors on the first day. Since then, the patient load has grown to an average of 66 patients per day in the off season and 90 to 100 people during flu season, Burke said.

Burke, who is board-certified in emergency medicine, spent 16 years working in hospital emergency rooms in Joplin and Springfield. He spent three of those years in the ER at Cox Health Systems.

From this experience, he learned that most people who seek emergency room care are there for treatment of minor illnesses and injuries. They choose the ER either because they do not have a primary care physician or they don't want to wait for an appointment with their regular doctors.

"I realized that the more convenient and service-oriented I could make our practice, without diluting the quality of medical care they were receiving, the more it would attract patients to our non-hospital-based practice," Burke said.

From the beginning Burke knew he wanted the clinic to function as an independent, freestanding facility. He has no plans to change that concept and become part of the multi-layered administration system that has become the norm.

During his years in emergency medicine, Burke was also involved in the administrative aspects of ER treatment, and he became aware that the cost of providing such service was much less than the charges incurred by the patient.

With these thoughts in mind, he established an independent practice that was service-oriented, without a large, multi-tiered organization dictating policy.

"This ensures the patient of convenient, affordable, quality non-emergent medical care," Burke said. The clinic has a base fee of $65 for an office visit and works with all insurance providers, Medicare and Medicaid.

When the doors opened on the clinic in 1997 there were 13 employees. The staff has grown to 45 people, including 4 employees at a second facility in Nixa, which Burke opened in January of 1997, before the Springfield clinic opened in September.

The Nixa clinic is run by nurse practitioners. Burke remained available to the Nixa staff while he worked a 12-hour day at the main facility when the offices were on an 8 a.m.-8 p.m. schedule. Both facilities are equipped with an intranet, which stores patient information and keeps paperwork to a minimum.

Recently the clinic extended its hours. They are now 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is also open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday, according to Marketing Director Cyndi Dancey.

With the new hours, staff members are able to divide work into shifts and get closer to an eight-hour day. With the help of some colleagues, who share the concept of an independent facility, the doctor will also be able to benefit from the divided hours.

Dancey said she began working in the office before she graduated from Southwest Missouri State University. After graduation she moved into the position of marketing director and is now working on the program to expand clinic services to the corporate community.

While the clinic has handled a lot of workers' compensation cases and catered to employers from the beginning, it has expanded pre-employment physicals to include drug and alcohol screenings and vaccinations, such as Hepatitis B, if the employer wants these services. The employer can customize the package to fit his needs, Dancey said.

Burke said he chose the clinic's two locations because of the tremendous growth in southwest Springfield and Nixa. If the practice continues to grow as it has in the first two years, he foresees the possibility of other facilities in and around the city.

The Family Medical Walk-in Clinic offers a full range of services, from X-rays, blood work and vaccinations, to school and job physicals, along with treatment of injuries and illnesses.

The eight patient rooms at the main facility are stocked with state-of-the-art equipment and supplies. They each contain television sets to entertain the patient while he or she waits. The children's examining room has colorful wallpaper and furnishings, and the TV set plays cartoons nonstop.

The clinic offers flu shots either at the facility or, by special arrangement, will provide the service to local companies on site.

Burke said when further expansion becomes necessary, he will be ready. The clinic does follow-up with patients to make sure their needs are being met and that the services provided are adequate. This system has helped gauge growth potential and guide expansion decisions.

When you don't have a larger entity to fall back on, you have to assess the need before you move forward, he said.