The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
American Family Care opens facility on East Main Street
TORRINGTON — American Family Care Urgent Care owner Tom Kelly happily welcomed guests to his newest facility on East Main Street this week for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a party though center opened in early March, and has welcomed an increasing number of patients since then.
“I like to call this model ‘congenial medicine,’” said Kelly, a resident of Granby.
Torrington is his seventh location for the urgent care center franchise; there are two centers in Danbury, and one in Newtown, Enfield, New Britain, Vernon and West Hartford, Fairfield, Norwalk, Shelton and Stamford.
“The urgent care center is a place where anyone can go, and instead of waiting in the emergency room, you can be treated and out of here in an hour,” Kelly said. “It’s a wonderful idea that I was so impressed by, that I had to get involved in it.”
Kelly’s tour of the Torrington AFC highlighted its waiting area, where manager Izza Shahzad and front desk receptionist Susan Richards greeted patients; a triage area, drug testing room, examining rooms for adults and children, a X-ray room, treatment areas, a nurse’s station, and offices for doctors and physician assistants. The care center employs 12 people now, and
is likely to increase its staff as patient traffic increases, Kelly said.
Kelly worked “in corporate life” for many years, and was looking for a new business opportunity.
“After 25 years as a corporate executive, I wanted to do something different. I’ve lived in Connecticut all my life; I have four kids. I saw a chance to join American Family Care,” Kelly said. “I was very impressed with their model of care. Doctors offices work around the doctor’s schedule. At an urgent care center, we work around the patients’ needs. It’s just a different approach to going to the doctor.”
Patients who have no insurance or can’t get in to see their regular physician and need help can come to AFC for treatment for anything from a broken finger, a high fever or a job-mandated drug test, Kelly said, making those types of treatments easier and less stressful.
“I wanted to make this a place where people come in feeling awful, and leave feeling better,” Kelly said. “I know we do that here.
“In the old days, the family doctor did everything,” he said. “Now everything is so specialized, that even after you go to your family doctor, you have to make another appointment and go to another doctor, or to get blood drawn, and the list goes on and on. We offer a full spectrum of care here, for people who have a primary doctor and those who don’t. Nobody has time for anything these days, so waiting around for an appointment isn’t always easy for them. Coming to an AFC Urgent Care is a great solution for them.”
If a patient has a primary care doctor, all records of procedures and treatments are sent directly to them. “But many people don’t have a primary doctor,” Kelly said. “For them, having a place to go is just as important.”
“We do what we can to treat people right here, so they don’t have to go to a specialist,” Kelly said. “For example, in our first facility in Danbury, which we opened in 2013, we diagnosed 20 cases of diabetes, with patients who didn’t have their own doctor. We were able to provide medications and treatment for them, so they weren’t walking around not knowing that they had it.”
Diagnoses and treatments aside, Kelly said, AFC collaborates with hospitals and practices wherever they are, because they’re not affiliated with any health care network. “We are part of the medical community. One thing we focus on is taking care of our Medicare and Husky patients, because for them, it’s hard to find access to services they need. We’ll work with anyone who needs us.”
Kelly’s biggest rule for his staff is to have “bullet proof confidence and Disneyland smiles.”
“I have the best people working here, from the managers to our doctors and physicians’ assistants. They are top of the line people who chose to work for us,” he said. “I don’t want to see a jaded, tired person working at the reception desk, who can’t take the time to be pleasant, to put the patient at ease. We want people to come here feeling welcome, and leave here feeling better, cared for. That’s what it’s all about.”
American Family Care Urgent Care is located at 1171 East Main St. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It can be reached by calling 860264-4176. Learn more at www.afcurgentcare.com