MultiCare Health System opened its 12th Indigo urgent care clinic in hopes to connect with and offer medical aid to the Kirkland community.
Kirkland’s Indigo clinic officially opened Aug. 3 and will remain open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 365 days a year. It’s located at located at 12475 Totem Lake Blvd. N.E.
MultiCare is one of the largest urgent care providers in Washington, with primary and urgent care clinics, a network of hospitals and outpatient specialty centers throughout the state.
The new Indigo clinic focuses on providing check-ups and walk-in urgent care services to Kirkland locals and is outfitted with several examination suites and X-ray equipment. Clinics help with minor illnesses and injuries and transport patients to a hospital if they’re too severe.
Brett Colbo, regional director for MultiCare, said he really wants to see the clinic connect with and become a part of the Kirkland community.
The Indigo clinics’ primary patients will be the “young and invincibles,” who don’t want to take a sick day for a small cough, according to Colbo. Additionally, the clinics are good options for mothers, who need a quick visit for their kids and those without health care insurance. The clinic’s flat fee is $125 per visit.
MultiCare opened the first Indigo clinic last June and it plans on opening more clinics neighborhoods throughout Pierce, King, Thurston and Snohomish counties within 2017, according to a press release. An Olympia clinic opened two days before the Kirkland clinic.
Indigo clinics use a paperless check-in system that’s designed to eliminate paperwork and streamline their services. Colbo said that often times there won’t be a wait.
Walk-in patients receive a check-in tablet and anyone can schedule an appointment at their website.
According to Colbo, MultiCare wanted their clinics and waiting rooms to be as optimal and relaxing for patients as possible. The waiting rooms are meant to feel more like coffee shops.
Recently, MultiCare also announced their alliance with UW Medicine in an attempt to expand people’s access to health care and let the two organizations work on joint projects. Both sides signed a comprehensive agreement on July 25.
“The challenges of a changing health care landscape and the needs of our patient populations make it imperative for us to seek out new, more effective approaches to delivering care,” said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO of UW Medicine, in a press release. “The alliance between MultiCare and UW Medicine is the perfect example. It capitalizes on the unique strengths of each system, and directs our combined energy and expertise toward a common mission of improving care and creating a consistently outstanding patient experience, all at a more affordable cost.”
The two companies will focus their efforts on providing health care and supporting education and research, while upholding four core principles, according to the press release: the provision of quality, patient-focused care; a commitment to education and research; maintaining finances to give value to those who pay for health care services; and a focus on improving the health of the alliance’s population.
“We are pleased that we have found a partner committed to collaborating to expand access to care and to improve the health of the communities we serve,” said Bill Robertson, president and CEO of MultiCare in the release. “Together, we will develop new ways to take care of patients as we pursue better outcomes at a lower cost. We look forward to the opportunities created by this innovative alliance with UW Medicine.”
