The demand for health care, and affordable health care (not to mention health insurance) is among the hottest issues in the nation and even as the demand for health care has increased, the cost of building new hospitals has gone through the roof. But do you need a hospital for most health care issues? The answer according to City MD is decidedly no. 

The Grand Opening of City MD at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW in the Whittaker complex marks the fourth in the greater Seattle area. They are partners with CHI Franciscan Health. The other locations are in Ravenna, Kent and Federal Way.

According to Dr. Joseph Passanante, Senior Vice President of Medical Operations - Northwest Region for City MD  they see "just under 1.5 million patients a year" in their 75 locations, primarily in New York and New Jersey and of those patients only 2 to 5 percent need greater care than City MD can provide.  That means for the vast majority of simple health care issues, facilities like City MD can provide a valuable service.

Not only is the wait time significantly shorter, often as little as eight minutes compared to sometimes hours in hospital emergency rooms, but the care is delivered in a way that City MD cultivates through it's hiring and training process. Doctors uses "scribes" in house meaning they have an employee that tracks the notes from the exam so the doctor can pay closer attention to the patient.

Dr. Passanante explained, "When you provide that kind of service within the community, with highly trained physicians right here, that model takes off. And when you add the most important ingredient of kindness into that equation, it works."

"For the non life threatening or non limb threatening injury you can be seen by an Emergency Care physician in less than eight minutes."

Typically they see people with coughs, bronchitis, stomach problems, urinary tract infections, eye, ear and skin problems, scaling up to cuts, breaks, sprains, nosebleeds, work injuries and more. They provide flu shots, travel immunization shots, STD and HIV screening, school, camp and sports physicals and more. They have an X-Ray machine on site and can do simple stiches and start people on antibiotics. 

The CityMD urgent care center employs 20 people and the doctors are primarily board certified emergency medicine physicians. 

CityMD "Takes almost all insurance" but for those without it a visit will cost $125 plus other fees if required such as medications or other related health care materials.