Unity Health has shut down its Jacksonville emergency room, which has raised concerns about access to urgent care in the community.<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Arkansas \u2014 Changes have hit the Jacksonville area after the city’s emergency room officially closed its doors for good.<\/p>\n
“Usually, the parking lot was full all the way across in the well. There are always cars going back and forth, up and down, so it was busy,” said Nicole Hunt, a medical assistant at the primary care clinic across the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That traffic has slowed after Unity Health announced last week that it would end emergency services at its Jacksonville location.<\/p>\n
“I was kind of sad about it, because all of our it’s a convenient thing to have our patients go over there, even if it’s just something minor or if they have to be transferred somewhere else. So it’s like, wait, what? ” What are we going to do now?” Hunt said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hunt also said that the change could make it harder for patients to access care, and pointed out the fact that other emergency room facilities are located six to 10 miles away, making the distance a problem.<\/p>\n
“It kind of puts us in distress, like, where are we going to go for something minor,” Hunt added.<\/p>\n
We reached out to Unity Health for comment, but have not received a response at this time.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville Mayor Jeff Elmore said that the news about the closure was unexpected.<\/p>\n
“I was a little surprised. We had no knowledge, no warning. You know that it was going to be happening,” Elmore said. “[I] did not, did not see it coming.”<\/p>\n
Mayor Elmore also explained additional details behind the closure. He said the closure was driven, in part, by financial challenges.<\/p>\n
“There were so many patients that were going to the emergency room, but using it basically as their primary care physician, and they would not have insurance, but they’re not going to be turned away, you know, services at an emergency room. The second part of that is, I guess, contractual obligations with insurance companies for amounts that they are being reimbursed,” Elmore said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said losing the ER could have real consequences for the community.<\/p>\n
“It’s an understatement to say, oh, it’s not a big deal. No, it is a big deal because you’re dealing with people’s lives in some of those situations; time is of the essence. ” And you know, a difference in minutes could mean a literal difference between life and death,” the mayor added.<\/p>\n