While rural areas often face the hazard of becoming medical care deserts, Bladen County is boosting their healthcare scene. 

With healthcare businesses setting up shop throughout the town, area residents can expect to see a higher capacity for patient intakes and more healthcare expansion in the pipeline. 

One of the companies that has invested in the county is Carolina QuickCare Family Practice and Urgent Care. The company opened five locations in the past fiscal quarter across North Carolina. Three of the locations fall within Greater Fayetteville Business Journal’s coverage area. In Sampson County, a site opened in Clinton at 1106 Sunset Avenue; in Harnett County, a site opened in Lillington at 41 Bain Street; in Bladen County, a location opened in Elizabethtown at 1328 W Broad Street.

In neighboring Columbus County, a Whiteville location has been serving its clientele since April and the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month. The Chamber also had a ribbon-cutting celebration for the Elizabethtown location, which opened in March, in late June.

“We’re proud to be the fastest growing urgent care brand in North Carolina,” said Suzy Buck, vice president of marketing and operations for Carolina QuickCare, in a press release. “We look forward to providing families in Clinton, Elizabethtown, Lillington, Whiteville and Williamston convenient access to quality healthcare, seven days a week.”

The Carolina QuickCare locations offer services that can be found at a primary care provider; the difference is that they are intentionally designed to offer those services within an immediate time frame, even offering walk-in appointments, whereas for a primary care provider, a patient may have to schedule far in advance.

Services offered at the various locations include COVID testing and treatment; onsite labs and X-rays; wound care; $89 Department of Transportation physicals; allergies; burns; sprains and strains; upper respiratory and sinus infections; rashes; STD testing and treatment; headaches; stitches; tuberculosis testing; occupational medicine; ear infections; cold, flu and RSV care; insect bites; and more.

The privately owned and operated company is based in North Carolina. It is not affiliated with the former Carolina Quick Care clinics that were acquired and rebranded as FastMed clinics.

Carolina QuickCare accepts all major insurances and self-pay pricing. The company is also authorized by the Veterans Administration. 

In addition to the QuickCare facilities, Bladen County is ushering in a wave of healthcare professionals with plans to expand healthcare into the region even further.

Eighty of North Carolina’s 100 counties are considered to be rural areas. Within GFBJ’s coverage area, Hoke, Harnett, Bladen, Sampson and Robeson Counties are considered to be rural. 

Among the many challenges that rural healthcare facilities face are staffing issues, financial obstacles and too few resources to adequately serve people in need of specialists and the disproportionate amount of elderly patients they see.

Dane Rideout, town manager of Elizabethtown, recognizes the need to amp up rural healthcare and is excited for what is in store for the region. 

Before becoming the town manager, Rideout was the city manager of a rural town that lost its hospital.

“Rural healthcare across the country is obviously at risk,” he said. “Coming into this job, we’ve got a very vibrant hospital with the [Cape Fear Valley Health System], but the additional health-related organizations are always powerful.” 

With sizable employers in Bladen County and a developing industrial park, Rideout says that the introduction of more healthcare providers is a draw for more companies to put down roots in the area as well as a reason for new employees to feel good about joining the community. 

Elizabethtown is the county seat and services a micropolitan area that is larger than Elizabethtown’s own population; Rideout estimates that Elizabethtown touches “close to 10,000 people” and said people come from other towns to get healthcare. 

On the horizon, Rideout said that a Live, Work, Play campus is being designed to go in the area industrial park. The first tenant will be an expansion of the Cape Fear Valley Hospital – an urgent care. With additional flex space, Rideout hopes to see the area evolve into a medical campus, offering specialty providers. The same campus will include a dentist, an eye doctor, a speech therapist and a speech pathologist.

Rideout is excited and hopeful for the future of the healthcare expansion in Bladen County. “It’s good to have a market share that’s diverse that allows people to shop around,” he said.