Dozens report to local emergency rooms each day for serious emergencies like chest pains, strokes and fractures. But not everyone in the ER is in the middle of a life-and-death situation. Others with relatively minor problems like fever, ear infection or abrasions head to the ER because they couldn’t get an appointment with their doctor, or don’t have one. This is the group the walk-in medical center aims to serve, and soon (late fall, early winter) Saugerties residents will have that option.

EmUrgentCare, a Coxsackie-based walk-in medical facility, plans to open a new branch in Saugerties on Route 9W, just south off the village. They’ve purchased an existing building there and plan to renovate it. Founders Pamela and Stephen Hassett, chief operating and medical officer, respectively, say the facility will aim to provide an efficient process in to minimize patient wait-time.

Hassett said that although those suffering serious emergencies should go to the hospital, EmUrgentCare’s physicians will be prepared to handle whatever comes through the door. In the case of a life-threatening injury or illness, physicians would likely evaluate and stabilize the patient and then seek transport by ambulance to a local hospital. Most would be treated on site.

Since opening the Coxsackie facility in 2003, Hassett says over 100,000 patients have been treated, and 20,000 were just in the past year. Saugerties is expected to generate similar numbers.

“We were looking for a community that had similar characteristics to the community that we’re in, because it’s a successful model, and we were also looking for a community that had need,” said Pamela Hassett, COO of EmUrgentCare.

Saugerties fit the bill.

Saugerties has three times the population of Coxsackie. Add a twenty minute-or-so ride to the closest emergency room, followed by a three to four-hour wait, and the Hassetts say there is a definite need in the community for an urgent care center.

The Hassetts say their business model serves as a supplement to primary care providers. In their experience, their staff builds good relationships with local physicians, sharing information freely and serving to alleviate the overflow when a doctor’s office gets too busy.

The facility’s opening would create between nine and twelve new jobs in the area. Two medical providers would be on site at all times to handle patient care. Other jobs include an x-ray technician, who would double as a medical technician, billing specialists and front desk receptionists.

The original investment, to purchase, renovate, and equip the building will cost between $1.2 and $1.3 million. They’re working with the Ulster County Development Corporation and the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency go get some tax breaks.