Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is rolling out a new joint express care and dedicated tick clinic to deal with the rising need for same-day access to medical professionals and the growing concerns around tick-borne illnesses. 

The hospital launched the new service on Monday, with the hope of expanding access to Islanders who don’t have a primary care physician. The hospital also expects that giving people a new option for tick illnesses and other medical ailments will help reduce the strain on the emergency department. 

The lack of primary care physicians on the Island has meant that the hospital waiting list has grown to hundreds of people in recent years. The hospital has turned to telehealth to take some patients off the list, and hospital president and COO Claire Seguin said this new service is being used as a way to help while the hospital tries to recruit more physicians. 

“I think it’s a good bridge,” she said in an interview last week. “We can take care of anybody, anytime, and then as we bring on more primary care providers, we’ll also sign you up for one of those.” 

The express care and tick clinic will be staffed by one to two nurse practitioners, along with medical assistants and triage nurses. The clinic will be by appointment only with the goal of getting people in to see someone by the next day. The clinic will be billed similarly to primary care, according to the hospital. 

Express care is comparable to urgent care facilities on the mainland, though slightly different in regards to insurance and the need for appointments, according to Ms. Seguin. Appointments can be made over the hospital’s regular access line or made through the online patient gateway portal. 

“You can actually just pick an appointment and make it yourself, self-schedule,” Ms. Seguin said. 

The hospital said the clinic can treat common conditions, including respiratory symptoms, sore throat, ear pain, gastrointestinal issues, skin conditions, joint pain, urinary symptoms and minor injuries.

It will also be a hub for people with tick bites and symptoms such as fever, rash, fatigue and joint pain. 

Follow-up care for conditions such as Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome will also be a central focus of the initiative. As tick-borne illnesses, especially alpha-gal, continue to spread on the Island, hospital physician assistant Aubrey Stimola Ryan said there has been more and more interest in dedicated tick care. 

“I think it’s very clear that this is an area where patients want more help and guidance, and not just in terms of diagnosis and treatment,” said Ms. Ryan Stimola, who works in the emergency room and has been the hospital’s public face for tick care. “There’s a lot of room here for educational opportunities.”

Ms. Stimola Ryan will help out one day a week at the new clinic, and said she hoped this would be a way to give patients more customized care for tick issues than what the emergency room can provide. 

“What’s really required after that initial diagnosis is this nuanced conversation where we talk to people about what triggers your symptoms and what doesn’t,” she said.

Ms. Stimola Ryan also hoped this could bring in patients who may need help, but want to avoid the potentially long wait times and co-pays of the ER.

“This is a first opportunity to kind of provide that middle ground,” she said. 

Though the clinic is opening up at the hospital, Ms. Seguin said the plan is to eventually move it to the new facility the hospital purchased along State Road in West Tisbury. The facility, which Dr. Ed Caldwell sold to the hospital last year, is still in the process of getting sign offs from the building inspector and the state Department of Public Health.  

The decision to open these services was based on the recent hospital community health needs assessment.

For Dick Johnson, the former county tick biologist, the new hospital program, as well as Martha’s Vineyard Medical’s tick center, couldn’t come soon enough. 

“We desperately need them,” he said.

For years people have come to Mr. Johnson asking him for medical advice. For many, the only option was the emergency room, which wasn’t really the right place for care in most instances. 

“For a lot of people, there’s nowhere else to go,” he said. 

The new clinic will be located at entrance 4 at the hospital, and will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Virtual care may also be available. Appointments can be made online or at 508-684-4500.