Mercy Urgent Care announced that its newest location, in Columbus, North Carolina, is expected to open in the spring of 2019.

For residents and visitors of Polk County and the surrounding area, this new facility means that high-quality, affordable and convenient medical care for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries will be just minutes away, representatives said. Patients in Polk County will now have access to walk-in care at a fraction of the cost of an emergency room visit. 

“We look forward to serving the people in this area with greater access to healthcare,” said Tim Johnston, Mercy Urgent Care CEO. “Polk County has a documented shortage of primary care providers and very limited access to any retail walk-in acute care services. There is very limited, if any, weekend and after-hours healthcare besides hospital emergency rooms in the entire tri-city area of Columbus, Tryon and Landrum, South Carolina.

“Growth is also anticipated with the continued development of the Tryon International Equestrian Center, which further increases the need for healthcare access for non-resident visitors.”

Mercy Urgent Care has moved forward with the development of the new location at a multi-tenant retail site — a project of developer Greg Edney with construction by Abbott Construction — which has been approved for this use by the town of Columbus and Polk County government.

Mercy Urgent Care Columbus, on Highway 108, less than a quarter of a mile from Exit 67 off of Interstate 26 and in a parcel adjacent to Entegra Bank, will be the seventh western North Carolina location for the nonprofit organization, which is headquartered in Asheville. 

In addition to services for individuals and families, Mercy Urgent Care Columbus will offer workplace-related healthcare services through its Mercy Occupational Medicine division. Employers in or near Polk County can take advantage of a wide array services, from workplace screening and testing to workplace incident management.

Mercy Urgent Care was founded in Asheville in 1985 as an outreach of the Sisters of Mercy, an international religious institute of Roman Catholic women, begun in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland. Committed to sacredness of life, human dignity, mercy, justice, service and excellence, Mercy Urgent Care believes everyone should have access to convenient, affordable and high-quality healthcare, representatives said.

Those interested in learning more may visit mercyurgentcare.org.

– Submitted by Anna Miller