Urgent Care Facility In Wilkinsburg Focuses On Helping Low-Income Families

WILKINSBURG (KDKA) - The doors are now open at a new urgent care center in Wilkinsburg. Its focus will be on helping low-income families.

Doctors say about six months after the pandemic began, they started noticing a trend.

"The statistics show that the life expectancy of African-American males has dropped three years," said Allied Community Health Director, Dr. William Simmons.

Dr. William Simmons is the new Medical Director at the Allied Community Health Center on Penn Avenue.

He said with emergency rooms filling up because of the virus, many don't feel comfortable walking into a hospital to be checked out for other health reasons.

Now that we're living in a world that is more virtual, some are feeling left behind.

"They don't have internet connections, or they don't have the ability to maneuver or to negotiate a zoom interview with their medical concerns," said Simmons.

"I came up with this idea about two years ago. I started traveling, doing traveling testing and DNA," said Health Care Administrator and Co-Owner of the center, Cecia Powell.

Cecia Powell tells KDKA, after meeting with Dr. Simmons, they discovered a health facility was needed to help those in Wilkinsburg and surrounding communities. This one will be federally qualified.

"Right now we are having our grand opening today [Saturday] for our urgent care and laboratory services and some critical care and some convenient care," said Powell.

They also plan to offer dental and mental health services. Plus, they're looking ahead. They're opening up another center in the Penn Hills area in April.