A Letter from Patrick O'Malley, MD on South Carolina Urgent Care Appreciation Day 

“On May 2, South Carolina became the first state to be recognized with an Urgent Care Appreciation Day. It was a great event at the State Capitol, leading to new connections and greater awareness of the importance of Urgent Care. It was an opportunity to educate some lawmakers on what Urgent Care actually is (yes, this is still happening) as it was quickly evident that many did not know there was a difference between Urgent Care and a hospital emergency department! I want to share with UCA members how this came to be and how they can replicate this type of event.  

Over the last few years, I have had many conversations with a friend of mine who happens to be a South Carolina State Representative, Chris Wooten. He will occasionally call me with questions or to seek clarification on medical topics that come up before the house. I will occasionally call him with issues facing healthcare workers and patients. Over the last year, I shared the idea of a formal recognition of the essential role Urgent Care plays in our states healthcare system and economy with him. By providing on-demand healthcare and employing hundreds of thousands every year, paired with the role Urgent Care played during the pandemic and beyond, he quickly saw that this would be an excellent opportunity to pay tribute to this vital part of our healthcare system. 

As the legislative session was coming to a close, there was an opportunity and opening in the schedule for this recognition; Wooten called to tell me this the day before I flew to Las Vegas for the 2024 UCA Convention. (Perfect timing!) We chose May 2 for South Carolina Urgent Care Appreciation Day, and the wheels were set in motion. Fortunately, over the past few years with my work on the Board of Directors for the College of Urgent Care medicine (CUCM) and EB Medicine, I have been able to make a lot of local connections. I quickly sent an email to everyone I knew working in Urgent Care in South Carolina. My wife quickly put an “Evite” together, we sent it out and the response was tremendous! Nearly 20 Urgent Care leaders from all over the state, along with SERUCA President Bernie Short, MD, College of Urgent Care Medicine Immediate Past President Chris Chao, MD and UCA Advocacy Manager Kristin Rastatter, confirmed that they would be coming.  

On the day of the event, Representative Wooten held a special meeting for us where he discussed the “making sausage” process of how things worked. He provided valuable insight into how things get done. He stressed to us that we had to make connections and educate our representatives on the issues facing us as Urgent Care owners, operators, and clinicians — we cannot assume that they already know! We had an opportunity to discuss with him and other lawmakers some other concerns in Urgent Care, with Limited Scope X-ray being the main issue that we are galvanizing ourselves around. This is a big topic nationwide, but especially in the South. We are grateful for the work Drs. DiBenedetto and Cvitanovich and Lori Noel have done in Louisiana, along with that of Chris Nugent. All of these individuals have been gracious with their time and sharing information to help us replicate their efforts at home in South Carolina.  

We then walked over to the State House and were seated in the balcony where Representative Wooten read the formal declaration and a beautiful framed copy was presented to Shelley Janssen, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Doctors Care on behalf of all Urgent Care workers in the state. Afterward, we met with lawmakers from our respective districts, sharing our appreciation and continuing to express our concerns. Lots of business cards and contact information were shared. The energy and excitement of those in attendance was palpable. We all are looking forward to the work ahead, working collaboratively “across company lines for the greater good of our patients, communities and the specialty of Urgent Care medicine. 

In the grand scheme of things, this was not hard to do. It comes down to connection. Making a connection with one lawmaker who sees the value and can help you get in front of the right people. If you don’t personally know a state lawmaker, someone you know does. Ask around. Send the email. Make the phone call. Invite them to the ribbon cutting and host a lunch at the opening of your next clinic. Invite them to come and spend time with you in your clinic. Talk about the issues you and your patients are facing when it comes to access to care, insurance reimbursement andnot being able to perform X-rays. Lastly, and as hard as it is for healthcare workers to understand this, make the donation. That is part of the “sausage making,” too. We have to put our money where our mouths are. That is what the lobbyists and other entities that seem to contradict our message are doing. If we want a seat at the table, we may have to pay for the reservation upfront.  

If we can do this, you certainly can too. As healthcare workers we have to make phone calls asking people to do things they don’t want to do all the time. We have to break bad news and have really uncomfortable discussions every day. Asking a lawmaker to have coffee or lunch and discuss these issues is nothing compared to that! I challenge each and every one of you reading this to make that call. Send that email. Have that cup of coffee. You will be surprised how quickly things may come together.”

-Patrick O’Malley, MD 

 

Special thanks to Dennis Pinnell of Doctors Care who stepped up to the plate to handle many of the details and to sponsor a boxed lunch for attendees that was enjoyed on the Capitol steps after the event.