After having visited a different urgent care type setting a week earlier, I wasn't particularly…read morethrilled when my primary care physician wasn't available for a timely appointment and instead referred me to this setting, Franciscan Express Care.
However, given my growing concern over some dehydration issues and an ongoing issue with my leg, I opted to go ahead and give Franciscan Express Care a chance.
Located in the CityWay area of near downtown Indy, Franciscan Express Care is located across the street from my primary care physician but is situated somewhat better in that it has free parking and a pretty easily accessible building. The parking lot is smaller than expected, though it's fairly workable and does have accessible parking spots (though there's a slight grade to them).
This same building offers urgent care, wellness programs, sports physicals, drug testing, occupational health, lab, and x-ray services. It's open from 7 am-11 pm daily, a definite plus in the world of urgent care.
Because I am an active primary care patient of Franciscan, my registration process was fairly simple. I registered within a few minutes - the staff was friendly, though they were on the phone with a supervisor upon my arrival. They did apologize when they got off the phone. There was an electronic board that essentially told you where you were at in terms of waiting (without violating HIPAA). That was helpful and decreased the "I'm waiting" anxiety. Truthfully, the wait was rather short and I was taken back to do the usual pre-check followed by a visit with the physician's assistant. I believe here name was Sarah Thill, though I may be wrong. Regardless, she was incredibly compassionate, a great listener, asked good questions and expressed concerns that perhaps I should consider going to the ER. She opted to offer me an antibiotic with the recommendation that if I wasn't showing signs of improvement soon that I should go ahead and go to the ER for further evaluation. I was incredibly happy with her presence and the thoroughness of her evaluation that definitely went beyond the usual urgent care exam.
I was easily in and out within an hour and my prescription was ready for me by the time I arrived at my pharmacy closer to my home. As things would pan out, a few days later I did end up being seen in the ER and admitted to the hospital for several days. So, essentially, the urgent care here really did their job and made a solid recommendation that ended up being 100% correct. I found the setting to be comfortable and the exam rooms to be more wheelchair-friendly than most urgent care settings I've been to in the past.
While one never quite knows what to expect from urgent care given the different clinicians one may experience, my visit here was definitely positive and I would easily return should the need arise in the future. While I still prefer my primary care physician, this is a great alternative. As a matter of note, while I wasn't required to pay upfront because of my insurance my final bill ended up being just over $90 - a good 10-15% lower than most IU Health urgent care settings.
