PALM BEACH GARDENS — A converted bank building on eastern Northlake Boulevard now offers acute injury care, school physicals and COVID-19 testing.
Helix Urgent Care opened its third Palm Beach County location Dec. 21, moving into a 4,200-square-foot building previously occupied by Chase Bank.
The new location, at 328 Northlake Blvd. in Lake Park, is expected to draw more patients from the town of Palm Beach, who previously had to drive a few miles further west on Northlake Boulevard to receive treatment at an older Helix facility.
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That location, at 3555 Northlake Blvd., just west of Interstate 95, closed Dec. 19.
“We get a lot of patients from Palm Beach,” said Melanie Escobar, the facility’s site manager. “As far as vicinity-wise, there are other urgent cares on U.S. 1. But it was just a good location to keep servicing the clients we have on that end. It wasn’t too far for them to go, and to be of closer service.”
Other Palm Beach County locations are in Tequesta and Palm Springs, and there also are locations in Deerfield Beach and Stuart.
The newest Helix location, on the south side of Northlake Boulevard about a mile west of U.S.1, was completely remodeled, Escobar said.
“The only thing that isn’t new are the outside walls,” she said.
The facility offers services, including walk-in medicine and urgent care, pre-employment physical exams, flu shots and vaccines, X-rays, lab testing, hearing and vision screens, and COVID-19 testing.
Helix works with a local lab to process COVID PCR tests, Escobar said, and results are usually returned within 24-48 hours.
The facility also offers telemedicine services, which have become widespread nationwide amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Helix offered telemedicine appointments prior to the pandemic, Escobar said, but recently added a virtual office to streamline the process.
“The virtual office handles virtual calls now,” she said. “Before we were doing it with the providers in the office who were doing the virtual calls.”
Despite the pandemic, Helix hasn’t seen a drop-off in the number of patients who need services, Escobar said.
During the summer, the facility saw about 20 to 30 patients per day. Since late fall, anywhere from 50 to 90 per day have come in for medical care, testing, physicals or other services.
“Patients are still coming in for drug screens for new hires,” Escobar said. “It’s stayed steady with the urgent care patients and increased
Helix Urgent Care is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For information, contact 561-626-4878 or info@helixcares.com.
jwagner@pbpost.com
@JRWagner5
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