Augusta Health has been serving Harrisonburg residents in Fishersville, and can now serve them in Harrisonburg at Augusta Health Primary Care, 644 University Boulevard.
John Mack, Chief Operating Officer of Augusta Medical Group, said that Augusta Health’s board and organization are community-based. As a community-based board and organization, Augusta Health is required to listen to the community “and, essentially, we’ve heard them. They like Augusta Health.”
Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., patients can make appointments or walk-in for wellness checkups, internal medicine, preventative care, chronic-disease management, sports medicine therapy, specialty services and breast surgery. Cardiology and general surgery services are also available.
“It was our intention to provide a convenient, closer to home location for access to these services,” Mack said of the new facility.
The primary care facility in Harrisonburg joins Augusta Health’s 11 facilities in Augusta County, Staunton, Waynesboro and, last year, in Buena Vista, Maury River and Lexington.
“The addition of Harrisonburg Primary Care Clinic is a commitment to a comprehensive primary care services line,” Mack said.
He said that Augusta Medical Group will continue to listen to the community and determine future needs, but more facilities are not planned at this time.
“Augusta Health recognizes that the health of an individual starts with a relationship with their primary care provider,” Mack said.
Augusta Health, one of few left of the independent community hospitals in Virginia, has an “intent to serve the community” and values local partnerships.
In Harrisonburg, Augusta Health partners with Shenandoah Valley Orthopedic Services to provide sports medicine services in the same building.
Amy Chico will serve as nurse practitioner at the Harrisonburg facility. She will provide care for chronic health conditions, acute illnesses, minor injuries, blood work and other tests for health surveillance.
“The goal is to optimize patients’ health,” Chico said. “That means we will be taking care of disease as it presents and also looking for diseases and conditions before they are fully evident.”
Chico said Harrisonburg has experienced great growth in recent years. Many individuals do not have a primary care provider or are unable to get an appointment in a timely fashion.
“Overall health is multifactorial, including how people eat, how they rest, how they mitigate stress, whether they are connected within community, how they move their bodies, their spiritual wellbeing, and many other factors. Because of this, it is important that patients are known by the person taking care of them. I believe that the basis of good primary care is relationship. If I, as your PCP, know of some difficulty in your life, I can be looking for how it may affect your health. I think that the addition of a new primary care office will be a great thing for the Harrisonburg community,” Chico said.
According to Chico, Harrisonburg residents are most looking for high quality family medicine services which provide good access. Many already see specialists at Augusta Health.
“I think having specialists seeing patients in our office will be a great help for the Harrisonburg community. We have specialists who travel to Harrisonburg to see patients in our office on a rotating schedule. This includes general surgery, cardiology, sports medicine and breast surgery, with the potential to add other services in the future,” Chico said.
In terms of gas and money, access to care for Augusta Health patients in Harrisonburg provides convenience and savings.
“The goal of Augusta Health Primary Care is to give outstanding care to the community in which we serve,” Chico said.
For more information, visit www.augustahealth.com.
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Rebecca Barnabi
