Tower cutting urgent care center hours
Temporary Sunday closure result of staffing shortage, officials say
Patients seeking urgent care services on Sundays will soon have fewer options.
Tower Health announced Friday that it will be temporarily closing all its urgent care facilities on Sundays as of Nov. 28. The move is being made because of ongoing staffing shortages.
“We are making this change to maintain consistent hours of operation for our patients,” Dr. Charles F. Barbera, Tower Health vice president of prehospital and unscheduled care, said in a statement announcing the change. “This updated schedule will eliminate the intermittent closures that have created access challenges for our patients. At the same time, it provides a day of respite for our team members who have been working tirelessly to keep our community safe and healthy for 20 months.”
Tower Health’s urgent care facilities will now only be open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The hospital system operates 25 urgent care facilities, six of which are in Berks County.
It is unclear how long the Sunday closures will last. Tower officials said the closures will be evaluated on an ongoing basis, with a goal of returning Sunday hours as soon as possible.
Tower officials said they are continuing recruitment efforts in an attempt to bolster staffing levels at their urgent care facilities. Anyone interested in working at a Tower Health facility can visit careers.towerhealth.org.
Officials from Tower urged patients in need of urgent care services on Sundays to use the health system’s virtual urgent care platform at towerhealth.org/services/virtual-urgent-care. The virtual platform can be accessed using a computer or mobile device 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Virtual urgent care visits can be used for things like allergies, bronchitis, COVID-19 related concerns, cold and flu symptoms, pink eye, sinus problems, skin problems and urinary tract infections.