Valley Immediate Care

Peace of Mind in the Heart of the Valley

Valley Immediate Care, an urgent-care clinic with locations in Medford, Grants Pass, and Ashland, will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in the fall of 2019. In addition to urgent-care, Valley Immediate Care also has an occupational health center and provides services in dermatology, orthopedics, and aesthetics. The business serves over 65,000 patients each year.

In 1999, Valley Immediate Care began serving the area with patient-focused urgent-care. Brent Kell, CEO, joined the staff in 2002, after previous experiences in veterinary urgent-care and children’s hospitals. Formerly from Fresno, Brent fell in love with Southern Oregon. “There’s a great quality of life here. Plus you can visit major cities like Portland and San Francisco within half a day’s drive.” He stayed for the long haul, assisting Valley Immediate Care to successful openings of its current clinics in the Rogue Valley.

The company is keen to identify needs and respond with solutions. There is extensive manufacturing in Southern Oregon which often means work-related injuries. So, in 2007, Valley Immediate Care put extra focus on an occupational medicine program. Since then, they’ve expanded to other fields as well. For instance, they have a medical laser to remove tattoos for at-risk kids, and work frequently with local agencies like Hearts with a Mission and Redemption Ridge.

Though recruitment of professionals can be challenging, Southern Oregon’s quality of life still brings in long-term employees who are enraptured by the area’s beauty. After all, there are plenty of places with nice outdoor recreation, but no culture. Here, one can find both. Not to mention short commute times, lots of good schools, and true collaboration between businesses. “In other places, especially in the medical field, it’s all just competition,” Brent explained. “But the environment here is very giving.” The way the community rallied together to help the California fire victims in 2018 is an example. “When there’s a need, the community responds, which aligns with our belief in having a servant’s heart.”

With a staff total of eighty-six, there are still more opportunities for new employees interested in the medical field. With the Pathways program, which allows high schoolers to explore potential career paths and even take local college courses, Valley Immediate Care plans to provide their entry-level staff with Medical Assistant (MA) training. After receiving certification from Rogue Community College, Pacific Healthcare Training, or an apprenticeship through Rogue Workforce Partnership, a receptionist can rise from answering the phones to helping as an x-ray technician or assisting urgent-care cases. Valley Immediate Care is always looking for friendly, solution-oriented staff with good customer service skills. Brent mentioned their focus on an “‘attitude not aptitude’ mindset.”

Urgent-care medicine gives the employees opportunities to ease patients’ pain and educate them on the spot—which can be quite rewarding. Employees can see the difference they’re making every day. Recently, Valley Immediate Care has also been using social media and automated technology to help even more people. With a website that accepts online payments, and allows for check-in during off-hours (such as the middle of the night), patients’ experiences are being enhanced by advances in the tech industry. As any parent can attest, making urgent-care appointments usually does happen in the early o’clocks, and so auto-responsiveness has been a large success for Valley Immediate Care.

In addition, Valley Immediate Care’s five-day promise has been giving patients peace of mind and the assurance that if the injury or ailment doesn’t go away within five days, a second visit to Valley Immediate Care is free of charge. Brent concludes, “we just continue to respond to needs.”

Valley Immediate Care | 815 N Central Ave., Medford, OR 97501 | www.valley-ic.com | 541-734-9030

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