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Urgent Care Center With IVs for Hungover Patients Opening on UWS

By Emily Frost | January 21, 2014 10:19am
 Cure Urgent Care promises a "concierge" level of care for all patients' immediate health needs. 
Cure Urgent Care promises a "concierge" level of care for all patients' immediate health needs. 
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Cure Urgent Care

UPPER WEST SIDE — Local residents' cure for a hangover is just an IV away.

A new chain of urgent care medical facilities is opening its first New York City location on the Upper West Side this year — promising to treat patients with ailments ranging from broken bones to those who simply overindulged the night before.

Cure Urgent Care, set to open on Broadway between West 102nd and 103rd streets in May, will treat issues like asthma or urinary tract infections rather than life-threatening emergencies like heart attacks, strokes or overdoses, said co-founder Dr. Jake Deutsch, who served as chief resident at Beth Israel Hospital.

It will also provide IVs for anyone feeling dehydrated, under the weather or just hungover, he said.

"There’s a paradigm shift within emergency medicine," Deutsch said. "People are realizing that going to the hospital isn’t always the best solution."

Founded by Deutsch and Elan Katz, Cure Urgent Care will offer a nearly 4,500-square-foot space for patients at the new facility. Instead of a long day or night at the ER, Deutsch promises to have at most a five-minute wait time at the new center and to have patients back at work or home in 45 minutes. 

Cure Urgent Care will accept all kinds of insurance, but Deutsch said an uninsured patient could be seen for around $250, instead of the $800 or more a visit to the ER could cost. 

The center expects to see 50 patients a day and will have three to four physicians, seven patient rooms, a waiting area, a consultation room and a large nursing area. 

"We’re going to try to set ourselves apart by providing a concierge level of care...[by] providing iPads for patients and an environment that stands apart from other doctor’s offices," Deutsch said.

In April, Cure Urgent Care will open a location in Huntington, L.I., followed by five other centers in New York City over the next year and a half, he noted.

The launch and subsequent expansion of the company coincides with a similar move by competitor CityMD, which is opening new spots across the five boroughs this September, including one on West 104th and Broadway, just a block away from Cure Urgent Care.

Opening four months ahead of CityMD will give Cure Urgent Care time to build and a "leg up," Deutsch said.

But the competition doesn't worry him, he added, because of the need for medical care in the neighborhood. He expects customers from the senior housing development above the center, Columbia University and from the densely packed residential neighborhood. 

Plus, Cure Urgent Care will set itself apart by offering rehydrating services for people with the flu, coming down with a cold, as well as those who are jet lagged or still suffering after a night out, Deutsch said. Patients will have their blood tested to determine the vitamins and nutrients they're missing and then be hooked up to an IV in one of two rooms set aside for hydration, he added. 

"We really want people to feel that dealing with their medical problems doesn’t have to be a headache," Deutsch said. "That’s really been lost."