University Medical Center to Open New Primary Care Center on December 20

To increase access to primary care services within Orleans Parish, University Medical Center New Orleans will open a new Primary Care Center on Wednesday, December 20.

The new $3.6 million Primary Care Center is located at 2003 Tulane Avenue on the University Medical Center campus in renovated office and exam space on the first floor of the University Medical Center garage. It will be open to new and established patients and operated Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“Access to primary care services is, and has been, a documented need within Orleans Parish,” said Alden J. McDonald Jr., chairman of the University Medical Center Management Corporation., University Medical Center’s governing board. “The opening of this center is intended to address a verified community need and, in doing so, elevate how primary care is to be delivered within this community.”

Primary care physicians are the first line of defense for good health. They perform routine checkups and screenings, manage chronic diseases, and can help catch health issues early, reducing visits to the hospital or to the emergency department.

The new University Medical Center Primary Care Center will house the LSU Medicine Clinic, which has 21 exam rooms, and a new University Medical Center Primary Care Clinic, which has 11 exam rooms. Currently, the LSU Internal Medicine and Tulane Internal Medicine residents and medical students share 20 exam rooms in the University Medical Center Ambulatory Care Building. With the opening of the Primary Care Center, the number of exam rooms available to those groups will now increase to 41.

“This expansion will advance our academic mission to train residents and students in primary care, and we are Jennifer Hart, MD, medical director of University Medical Center Clinics and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at LSU Health New Orleans. “National trends in healthcare emphasize the importance of primary care and the need for every individual to have a primary care provider. The primary care expansion at University Medical Center will improve access to much-needed healthcare services for the people in our area.”

Recognizing the need for additional primary care physicians, University Medical Center recruited Kendria Holt-Rogers, MD, who specializes in internal medicine, and Alan Gatz, MD, who specializes in Family Medicine. They will see patients in the University Medical Center Primary Clinic.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to enhance our community’s access to care through the opening of this new Primary Care Center,” said Bill Masterton, University Medical Center President, and CEO. “It represents the continued growth of University Medical Center and an investment in a healthier community.”