MinuteClinic Opens in Granby CVS

OK, let’s make this clear up front.

You don’t go to MinuteClinic, the newly opened, one-room walk-in clinic located inside the store in Granby at 20 Bank St., if you need a tourniquet for that severed artery.

That’s what emergency rooms are for.

Got the SARS? MinuteClinic also isn’t the first place you should go.

But if you need an exam for a minor illness (e.g. cough, earache, nasal congestion), minor injury (blisters, deer tick bites, burns) or skin condition (acne, athlete’s foot, shingles), then MinuteClinic is the place for you.

Staffed with certified nurse practitioners (two full-time and three part-time MPs rotating in shifts), MinuteClinic, which now has 13 locations in the state, is designed to alleviate emergency rooms of the burdens of acute episodic care, said Marleen McGuire, APRN.CFNP and district manager for operations for CVS MinuteClinic in Connecticut.

All without an appointent.

“We provide convenient, affordable means of care,” said Marleen McGuire, APRN.CFNP and district manager for operations for CVS MinuteClinic in Connecticut. “We can take care of you or refer you out and triage you to the appropriate place.”

And, with services starting at $79 (MinuteClinic also takes most insurance, but not Medicaid), it saves its patients and/or insurers quite a bit of money as well.

“It’s a lot more economical than urgent care and certainly more economical than the emergency room,” McGuire said. “It takes away the drain on ER resources for ear infections and strep and sore throats. That’s what people go to the emergency room for.”

As a front-line care provider, MinuteClinic medical providers can diagnose those ear infections and, if it’s serious enough, prescribe an antibiotic - which can be picked up at CVS - and send the patient on his or her way.

“We tell them that if [the condition] is not better in three or four days, or if it gets worse, then follow up with [a primary care physician],” McGuire said.

In addition, MinuteClinic administers “wellness services” designed to help consumers identify lifestyle changes needed to improve their current and future health, including screenings and monitoring for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It also provides vaccinations for, among other things, the flu, Hepatitis A & B and pneumonia. Again, no appointment necessary.

“It’s an efficient use of health care dollars,” McGuire said.

MinuteClinic does not perform blood tests or X-Rays. And while MinuteClinic is not meant for the more serious health conditions, McGuire said that she has heard of practitioners administer CPR in the aisles of CVS as well.

“We do stand for clinical excellence here,” McGuire said.

WIth the Granby opening, MinuteClinic now has five clinics - all located inside CVS’s, which owns MinuteClinic - in Hartford County, including Avon and Enfield.

“We are very excited for the community,” said CVS Store Manager Don Winkle, noting that the store employs Granby residents almost exclusively. “We’re here for the customers and we like to maintain a local environment. … We’ve done very well with flu shots and we’re thrilled at now having a pharmacy team and a MinuteClinic to support that.”

MinuteClinic medical walk-in clinics in Connecticut operate from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.