Jackson Health to open urgent care center in Miami Gardens

Citing a need for healthcare services in North Miami-Dade County, and the presence of “many insured families” in the area, leaders of the county’s public hospital network, Jackson Health System, this week announced plans to open an urgent care center in Miami Gardens.

The urgent care center is the fifth announced by Jackson Health this year, and it likely will be paid for with a portion of the $830 million in taxpayer funds that Miami-Dade voters approved in November 2013.

Financing and design details will be announced in early 2016 when the Public Health Trust, Jackson’s governing board, will consider the full proposal, according to a memo from Jackson CEO Carlos Migoya. The other four urgent care centers will be in South Beach, Cutler Bay, North Miami and Country Walk.

The new urgent care center will be added to an existing facility known as the North Dade Health Center, which houses doctor's offices but no walk-up facility where patients can receive care without an appointment.

Migoya noted that the decision was based on “numerous factors,” including the availability of space in the existing building and grounds, and “the ability to easily access more acute medical and specialty services at nearby Jackson North Medical Center.”

An urgent care center in North Dade will help patients seeking treatment for conditions such as a broken ankle or a wound that needs stitches.

Jackson’s North Dade Health Center offers obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and other services, but the center no longer includes dentists, podiatrists and diabetic counselors.

Martha Baker, a nurse and president of the union representing Jackson’s nurses and other healthcare professionals, said the new urgent care center could help bring more medical services back to the region.

“We have a lot of room to really grow our primary care services for our community,” she said, “including at North Dade, and we’re excited to see that.”

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Jackson Health to open urgent care center in Miami Gardens."