New Urgent Care Center Opens In Havertown

"More Caring, Less waiting" is the motto of Havertown’s newest urgent care center CareSTAT, which opened last month.

Promising good medical and quickly, the center opened in late December in the once vacant Movie Gallery next to the Superfresh store in the Manoa Shopping center. The 3,700-square foot facility has a warm and friendly atmosphere with two flat screen televisions and a children’s area in the waiting room.

The family-owned urgent care facility boasts the only “on-site board certified radiologist ... me,” says President and Co-owner Dr. Jonathan Gusdorff. 

Gusdorff and his wife Jaime, who serves as CEO, say “Our purpose is to offer non-critical medical care to patients as an alternative to long waits in an emergency room and more quickly than their primary physician may provide.”

The Gusdorff’s opened the center after determining what they view as an underserved niche in this community.

“We can spend more time with a patient than a primary doctor may have in a typical day. We also have almost no wait time as compared to an emergency room or physician’s office,” Jonathan Gusdorff said.

“Our (walk-in) medical facility can treat most non life-threatening injuries and illnesses more quickly than an emergency room where non life-threatening cases must wait,” he continued.

The center is open about 80 hours a week and “one of us is usually here. We’re on-site owner and operators,” says he of himself and he wife Jaime. “It’s different when the owner is on-site. If someone has a problem, we are right here to address it. I enjoy interacting with patients. That’s the primary reason we got into this."

Gusdorff lists some of the features that his "state-of-the-art facility" offers:

• six exam rooms
• two procedure rooms
• a lab capable of diagnosing strep, flu, mono, HIV and pregnancy
• an X-ray suite with high resolution digital x-rays

The center is equipped to handle about 50 to 60 patients a day, he explains.

Gusdorff says, “We have put our heart and soul into this place, from picking the color of the walls to hand-picking the staff. We live in the community. We are part of the community, we work here and we live here."

Some of the variety of patients that CareSTAT has seen so far have suffered from:

• Cold-related symptoms
• stitches
• respiratory distress 
• bronchitis
• asthma

"... even my own daughter with a scratched cornea," Gusdorff says.

Typical services include treating minor cuts and burns, sprains, simple fractures, flu shots, school and sports physicals, Gusdorff explains. The center also performs EKG’s. CareSTAT also works with employers to provide services like employee drug tests, pre-employment physicals, evaluation and treatment of Workers’ Compensation injuries and other work-related medical needs.

When asked if there are cases they cannot handle, Gusdorff says, they evaluate a patient and if he or she needs an emergency room or hospital care, CareSTAT will call an ambulance and transport them to the nearest hospital. He added that has happened three times since they have opened.

In addition, if the patient needs to be referred to a specialist, CareSTAT will set up the appointment for them. The center has set up relationships with doctors, specialists and pharmacies in the area.

“We accept most insurance plans and provide a discounted rate for those without insurance,” says Gusdorff.

Dr. Frederic Stieg is the lead physician at CareSTAT and he brings almost 40 years of medical experience. He is board certified in family medicine and has specialized in pain management and occupational-related medicine.

Steig, with a relaxed and friendly manner, says, “I loves this atmosphere and I can really concentrate on the patient, giving each patient more time and attention in a friendly and positive way.”

The center is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They are open most holidays as well.

Patients do not need an appointment and can usually be in and out, including filling out paper work, within 45 minutes, Gusdorff comments.

For more information or to set up an appointment online visit their website at: http://www.carestaturgentcare.com or just walk in.