EMPORIUM — Patients in Cameron County will now be able to see a health professional for non-emergency conditions without an appointment or suffering long wait times at the emergency room thanks to a new service being provided by Elk Regional Health Center in Emporium.

Q Care Cameron County opened last week in the former office of Dr. Scott McKimm located at 410 North Broad St. in downtown Emporium, which also houses a physical therapy suite, laboratory services and x-rays.

The office will continue to function as it always has for existing patients, but this new service will bring added convenience to residents of Cameron County. Staff members were adamant there would be no interruption or delays in services to regular patients who had made an appointment or saw staff as their primary care physician.

“We are very excited to be able to offer this service to Cameron County,” said Elk Regional public relations director Charlotte Floravit. “Staff can write prescriptions, refer patients to specialists and perform physical examinations at Q Care.”

In 2011, a similar clinic opened in Elk Regional’s emergency department in St. Marys, inspired mainly by patient requests and comments. The clinic has since been revamped and moved into the medical office building next door, servicing patients suffering from the flu, colds, sprains, broken bones, stitches, earaches, minor aches and pains and a wealth of standard, non-life-threatening medical issues.

Q Care physician assistant Christie Slottje said the first week has been relatively busy. Elk Regional estimated its anticipated patient load from volumes received at St. Marys Q Care when it opened, and she said the office is seeing more activity than they had expected.

“We offer a lot of services — the laboratory, x-ray and physical therapy in addition to Q Care — but individuals with a chronic condition should still see their regular doctor for monitoring, or for serious conditions, like chest pains or shortness of breath or a serious injury, patients should head to the emergency room,” Slottje said. “We will have a doctor in-house part-time, but for now we do not have a permanent physician.”

“It’s very hard to recruit doctors right now even in major health systems and it’s particularly difficult in a rural area,” Floravit said. “This is a good alternative in the meantime as we work to recruit a physician for Cameron County.”

If a patient does come in to Q Care but must be sent to the emergency department or to another physician within the Elk Regional system, their records and any information gathered at the Emporium location will be immediately viewable by other doctors in the system via Elk Regional’s electronic records system.

While most patients will be seen by Slottje, who earned her undergraduate degree from Penn State and her master’s from Lock Haven before returning to Cameron County, two doctors from Elk Regional, Dr. Dennis Parlavecchio or Dr. Gregory Little, will be in the office on a part-time basis.

Q Care is located on North Broad Street in Emporium Borough. Office hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday except holidays. Patients will be billed as though they attended a regular appointment with their physician.