Founded in 1900, Mercy Urgent Care is working to meet the needs of local Western North Carolina communities and introduced several new programs in the last year. MercyMotion is a physical therapy service, Mercy Mindful is a mental health service, and MercyMe Team Care is a membership model which can benefit employers, individuals, families, and those without insurance. These programs aim to make healthcare of all forms more accessible for all.

Headquartered in Asheville, Mercy Urgent Care provides services to patients at eight locations across Buncombe, Haywood, Polk, Transylvania and Yancey Counties. The broader Sisters of Mercy organization began in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. Mercy Urgent Care remains a local, nonprofit, sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy.

Mercy employs approximately 100 people across eight locations. Their nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physicians care for about 70,000 patients annually, with more than 1.5 million patients seen since 1985. Other healthcare professionals round out Mercy’s team approach to care, with three to 10 staff providing care at any given time, depending on the size and capacity of the location.

MercyMe Team Care launched this summer. MercyMe was created to offer health care services for a low monthly membership fee instead of for per-visit prices.

“While it is not insurance and cannot be billed to insurance, it is a great way to offer employees healthcare services through an affordable monthly membership,” Mercy Urgent Care CEO Rachel Sossoman said. “The program is different from a direct primary care model in that MercyMe is more comprehensive. Patients can be seen at any of the eight locations, and physicians can connect with other providers within the system to confer about a patient’s previous care.”

Mercy Urgent Care’s after-hours labs provide 24/7 drug and alcohol testing, services some employers, turn to especially after an accident occurs on the job. “MercyMindful, the new mental health division, has seen an overwhelming response from employees as the demand for this service increases,” Sossoman said.

Also available to individuals and families, a MercyMe membership includes unlimited in-office or virtual urgent care visits, a yearly health physical, flu shots, BMI, A1C and blood pressure assessments, vision screenings, discounts on durable medical equipment and labs. While prescriptions aren't included in the membership fee, they are available at deeply discounted cash pay rates. Mental health and physical therapy services, available through the MercyMindful and MercyMotion programs, also can be added to memberships for an additional cost with a one-year commitment required for joining this program.

“We have lots of resources to improve efficiency in all factors. Nonvalue time such as check-ins and wait times are kept to a minimum. We strive to have patients in and out in under 60 minutes,” she said.

“We also offer exclusive services that can keep patients out of the hospital unnecessarily. One of those is cutting-edge technology that can detect a concussion within 15 minutes,” Sossoman said. BrainScope is a handheld device that provides FDA-cleared indications for the likelihood of concussion and/or brain bleed, all without radiation and at a fraction of the cost of an emergency room visit and/or CT scan. “We are working to partner with sports teams and schools to get the word out so that parents know this service is available,” she said.

Mercy Urgent Care is available seven days a week to everyone in Western North Carolina to help with non-life-threatening health care needs. Memberships are not required for care. Mercy still accepts most major insurance, and its tiered pricing program is still available to self-pay patients who are not members. “We strive to offer the lowest price point in the region and provide healthcare to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay,” Sossoman said.