News : Primary care survey by Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics ends Wednesday

The Primary Care Survey being conducted by Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics for Benton County will end this coming Wedensday, February 1st. If you haven't participated please do so by clicking here. Virginia Gay is especially interested in involving those who are not currently a patient at one of the Vinton Family Medical Clinics in Atkins, Urbana, Van Horne, and Vinton. Answers are completely anonymous. At present, anyone with a pressing need for medical care after regular clinic hours have two choices; travel out of town for care without an appointment, or visit the Virginia Gay Emergency Department. In large part because there are trained medical people standing by to provide care 24/7, 365 days a year, emergency department care is the most expensive option. VGH is surveying the communities it serves in part to determine if providing care after hours regular clinic hours, without an appointment and without using the emergency department of the hospital, is an option the communities it serves would utilize. "Our mission is providing primary care,"� explains Mike Riege, Virginia Gay Hospital Administrator, "but we need everyone's help to make certain we're doing all we can to make access possible for everyone. This survey isn't limited to patients of Virginia Gay. We want to understand more clearly the choices people make to receive health care and how we might improve our ability to serve all potential patients."� In the past two months three additional PA's have been added to the Virginia Gay staff. Julie Samora, PA-C, will be assisting in the hospital and the emergency department. Ben Nigg, PA-C, and Abby Stermer, PA-C, will be seeing patients in several clinic locations. To participate in this anonymous survey, click here. --