Urgency Room, a Hybrid Treatment Center, Opens Its Doors in Eagan

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After 20 years as an emergency room physician, Dr. Gary Gosewisch says he is all too familiar with the long waits, backlogs and inefficiencies that often plague patients in a traditional hospital ER.

Gosewisch set out to correct many of those problems when he began developing "The Urgency Room"—a hybrid medical facility that owners say combines the speed and pricing of an urgent care clinic with emergency room capabilities.

On Monday, Gosewisch' brainchild will open its doors to the public for the first time in Eagan. The facility is the second of its kind in the metro area. In 2010, Gosewisch oversaw the opening of the first Urgency Room in Woodbury—which is seeing an average of 15,000 patients annually.

The Eagan Urgency Room, a 12,565-square-foot facility along Lone Oak Road, has 16 exam rooms and two larger procedural rooms. The clinic can treat patients suffering from broken bones, blood clots, severe lacerations and heart attack symptoms, as well as a variety of other conditions or medical issues.

The Urgency Room will have at least 10-12 staff members on hand at all times, including a mix of physicians, nurses and paramedics, Gosewisch said. Many of those staff members will rotate between the clinic and other hospitals, EMT services or medical facilities, where they also work, Gosewisch said.

The building, which is 30 percent bigger than the location in Woodbury, is also replete with diagnostic equipment, including a CT scanner, a fluoroscopic x-ray machine and an ultrasound scanner.

The goal is to treat and release most patients within 90 minutes of their arrival, Gosewisch said. In some cases, the facility will refer patients to a hospital for more complete care, Gosewisch said.

The Urgency Room will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, including holidays, Gosewisch added. The facility cost between $2 million and $3 million to building and equip, said Gosewisch, who serves as the Urgency Room CEO.

Next spring, Gosewisch plans to open a third Urgency Room facility in Vadnais Heights. That facility is already under construction.

“We chose the Eagan location as this is a growing and thriving community that presently doesn’t have a hospital to provide emergency medical services,” Gosewisch wrote in a press release.