This past week, ExperCARE Founder and CEO, Catherine Grant was featured on WTOC.
Article: Urgent cares see increase in patients due to high wait times at emergency rooms
BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) – Emergency rooms in our area are being overwhelmed with patients every day.
WTOC checked in with urgent care providers to see how this is affecting them.
The CEO of Expercare said their urgent care facilities in Bryan and Chatham counties saw a surge of patients during peak COVID times but now they’re starting to see a normal influx of patients walking through their doors.
Catherine Grant says everyone can help with high emergency room wait times by coming to urgent cares when experiencing minor issues.
She says they can see anywhere from 30 to 100 patients a day but wait times in the urgent cares are much shorter than in emergency rooms.
She says any time you’ve been in a trauma related accident or feel like you have a life-threatening emergency you should go to the hospital.
“If you’ve got sudden loss of vision or sudden vision changes or sudden stumbling, something that’s indicating something going on in the brain. Sub sternal chest pain that radiating to the shoulder and concerns for that potentially being a heart attack,” said Grant.
She says it’s vital the community works together during this healthcare crisis.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/sky3-scaled.jpg17072560Jackie Schotthttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgJackie Schott2023-02-18 15:56:022023-02-18 16:00:59ExperCARE Founder and CEO featured on WTOC – Urgent cares see increase in patients due to high wait times at emergency rooms
WORDS BY DR. JAY JAY HENDRIX PHOTOS BY ERIN HIXSON PHOTOGRAPHY
My heroes make waves. They have common attributes: brave, resourceful, yet humble – living as if rules are “guidelines” and traditional roles are to be challenged. As a consequence, they’re amusingly misunderstood.
Who inspires you?
A family member, neighbor, celebrity, or teacher? Perhaps a parent who set a standard and held you to it? People with traits you admire and aspire to imitate?
Catherine Grant’s mother emphasized one of the same valuable lessons for her daughter as my dad did for me: Never need to depend on someone to take care of you. No doubt, given her example, her daughters will perfect this strength.
Raising three daughters is an enormous challenge in itself. Ask me how I know. When considering the possibilities for Catherine’s girls, a familiar saying comes to mind, “If you see her, you can be her.” Little girls need examples in a variety of roles to know they have options. Sometimes rather than plotting a course for us to follow, the people we admire inspire us instead on an uncharted journey.
“Who inspired you?” I asked.
Encircled by stacks upon stacks of books confirming her thirst for growth, Catherine answered without a second of hesitation, “My mom.”
She vividly described an iconic mother-figure, content to earn the “degree of Mrs.,” required to shift direction by a marriage that didn’t work, a twist among many that would set the foundation for the building of her daughter’s tenacity. Beyond the quintessential story of a mom needing to work with her child in tow, the stage was set for an inquisitive daughter to inherit a relentless work ethic and commitment to excellence. Catherine was eight when her mother re-married. Poppy, as he was lovingly known, became a piece of her balance. With his selfless love and encouragement, he helped her mother lay the foundation- the forging of an entrepreneur. She learned early that work was her way to achieve her goals, and she set sail on that sea.
Catherine’s accolades and accomplishments are expanding in much the same fashion as the business she co-founded. Since opening the first urgent care center in Richmond Hill in 2009, she has been stacking recognitions and awards as neatly as the books surrounding her CEO chair. With her at the helm, ExperCARE is opening a fifth location.
Motivated to be a part of the solution to what she considers to be a “broken” system, Catherine envisions “healthcare the way it should be,” patient-focused with an improved standard of care. “People deserve better care,” and together with her leadership team, ExperCARE is advancing that mission.
Leadership, business fundamentals, self-improvement, and biographies make up Catherine’s reading collection, but she is clear about her Source. One of her guiding Bible verses is from Philippians 4:13 “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
“We all need a True North.” Catherine relies on her relationship with Jesus to provide truth, wisdom, and discernment. “I want to have a tangible impact by helping others experience Him.”
What are you building?
Catherine’s answer to this question again hails her mother’s recurring influence. She believes that what we hear as children becomes our inner voice, and she heard the incessant message, “With hard work, you can be and do anything.” Work does not intimidate Catherine, nor does challenge. In fact, challenge propels her to thrive. The inner voice she now conjures in the face of adversity repeats, “You were created for this.” Together with Scott, her husband, counsel, and confidant, the Grant’s are building full steam ahead.
Catherine’s waves extend beyond business to create broader change for a better world. Alzheimer’s, childhood cancer, and United Way fundraising; serving on boards for community development and healthcare advancement; and volunteering to mentor future business leaders are among her commitments to advocacy.
All of the accomplishments in her wake haven’t changed Catherine’s ultimate goal: to be more like the person who inspires her by exemplifying unconditional love. “In a broken world, my mom has been able to love others even when they were not easy to love.”
Her three young daughters, Grayson 12, Madison 9, and Emerson 1, are watching, and if their mother’s accomplishments seem impressive, I predict a tsunami. Catherine describes them as fearless and passionate. Grayson helped build the recycling program at school, and together with sister Madison, they worked diligently to raise funds for a clean water project in Zimbabwe. Their mom recognizes that her most important role is to encourage her daughters to become all that they were created to be, just like the person who inspired her.
Our daughters are watching; and so are our sons. May we inspire them and others to make waves. Waves are shifting and fading, but the changes they create are immensely powerful, enduring, and inspiring. May we never underestimate ripples.
ExperCARE Health is a longtime supporter of The Ronald McDonald House Charities and has renewed their partnership for the 2022 year. After a challenging year, RMH Charities hold a special place in the heart of ExperCARE CEO and Founder, Catherine Grant.
“We are grateful to be able to support the Ronald McDonald House again this year. The work they are doing in our community, and beyond, makes such a meaningful impact to the families they serve,’ shares Grant, ‘Last year, I got to understand on a more personal level the enormous blessing the Ronald McDonald House is, shortly after my niece was born at only 31 weeks. My sister and brother-in-law were able to stay there, very close to the children’s hospital in Philadelphia, so that they could focus all their time and energy on our sweet Mabry throughout her time in the NICU. The house provided an incredible home away from home for them during a very challenging time. We will forever be grateful to them and are honored to help pay that forward to hopefully bless others in their time of need.”
The Ronald McDonald House in Savannah provides a home away from home for seriously ill or injured children and their families who are receiving treatment at local area hospitals. “We’re serving every illness and injury in children from newborns to 22 years of age, said RMH CEO and Executive Director, Bill Sorochak. “Every dollar raised and donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire stays here in our community, not a single penny leaves. With our newest Corporate Sponsor, ExperCARE, their sponsorship & donations are making an immediate impact in our mission, and we can see that in our families’ faces.”
Last year, the Ronald McDonald House provided 4,500 family-night stays. The Savannah House has been serving families since 1987, and with its 13 rooms, compassionate and dedicated staff, it may be the most important house a child will ever visit. To learn more about Ronald McDonald House, and the good they do in our community, click here.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RMH-14-scaled-e1649363621970.jpg13952560Jackie Schotthttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgJackie Schott2022-04-07 20:34:452022-04-07 20:34:45ExperCARE’s Corporate Partnership with Ronald McDonald House
ExperCARE Marketer, Becca Rivera was recently elected to the Board of Directors of local networking organization, Buy Local Savannah! Buy Local’s mission is to support independent, locally-owned and operated businesses in the greater Chatham County area, to maintain our unique community character, provide continuing opportunities for entrepreneurs, build our community economic strength, and prevent the displacement of community-based businesses by national and global entities.
ExperCARE has been locally owned and operated since opening in June of 2009. “Supporting local business has always been something I’m incredibly passionate about,’ says Rivera, ‘The greater Savannah area has such an incredible local business community that has supported ExperCARE since day 1! I am SO excited to partner with this awesome board and continue to advance the mission of Buy Local Savannah!”
To learn more about Buy Local Savannah and the impact of buying local, visit, www.buylocalsavannah.com.
To read more about the 2022 Board of Directors, click here.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_8045.jpg9241984Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2022-02-01 20:07:472022-02-01 20:07:47ExperCARE Marketer Elected to Buy Local Savannah Board of Directors
Since ExperCARE opened its newest urgent care clinic at 818 Abercorn St. in downtown Savannah November 2020, new patients have streamed in, often referred to the clinic by concierges at various hotels and vacation rentals.
To thank these concierge leaders for placing their faith in ExoerCARE’s convenient, high-quality service, we hosted a socially-distanced, COVID-friendly luncheon for the Savannah Concierge Group on the outdoor patio at Collins Quarter at Forsyth on Thursday, Feb. 4.
The Savannah Concierge Group was established as a concierge networking group by Mickey Minick of Kelly Tours, well known for taking out-of-town tourists to all of Savannah’s most beloved places in comfort and style.
At the luncheon, ExperCARE’s Vice President of Operations Spencer Gambrell welcomed the group at lunch and then took them across the street for a tour of the new state-of-the-art clinic and a question-and-answer session with ExperCARE’s highly-skilled and professional team.
“We are so grateful for the generous support we have received for our newest location,” said ExperCARE Founder and CEO Catherine Grant. “We wanted to personally thank the concierges for referring business to ExperCARE and let them see for themselves everything our clinic has to offer their guests.”
If you are ready to book your appointment so you can experience our award winning healthcare at ExperCARE click here.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NU8A3347.jpg533800Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2021-02-05 02:32:222021-02-05 02:32:22ExperCARE Thanks Savannah Concierge Group
We were so excited Patty Turner from WSAV’s The Bridge featured our newest ExperCARE location at 818 Abercorn St. in downtown Savannah on their television show! We took Patty around our newly renovated, state-of-the-art facility and talked about why ExperCARE strives every day to be the first choice for your healthcare needs. This interview gave us a chance to talk about how ExperCARE got started in 2009 in Richmond Hill. This community rallied behind our vision and their continued support, great reviews and word of mouth referrals made it possible for ExperCARE to grow to three convenient locations!
Thank you Patty and the team at WSAV’s The Bridge for telling the ExperCARE story to their viewers!
PATTY TURNER: Access to healthcare just got easier in the Savannah area with the expansion of this local medical facility by one of Savannah’s very own, Catherine Grant. So, what’s offered there? Come inside with us to the newest ExperCare at 818 Abercorn to find out.
TURNER: This is exciting, Catherine. This is your third location?
CATHERINE GRANT: Yes.
TURNER: It’s downtown, historic Savannah.
GRANT: Mmhmm.
TURNER: How did this come about? And, what does this mean for folks who live in the historic area?
GRANT: Well, we’re so excited. We’ve been around since 2009. We actually were founded as the Urgent Care Center of Richmond Hill, in Richmond Hill, but rebranded when we came to Savannah, which was in 2016, early 2016, with our first location in Savannah on Mall Boulevard. And, so, we’ve been looking in the downtown market for a number of years actually to find the perfect place where we have parking because we know that’s important — especially when you ‘re not feeling well – and came across this about a year ago, this opportunity and decided we were going to do a big renovation project and provide access to on-demand healthcare for the residents, the visitors and the businesses in the downtown community, so, we’re thrilled.
TURNER: So, what do you offer here at ExperCare in downtown Savannah?
GRANT: So, we offer all — it’s probably easier to say what we don’t do. But it is truly walk-in access to care for urgent care, for routine care, for occupational health. We see all age groups. We’re open seven days a week. We’re open extended hours. Everything from illness, to injury to routine testing sorts of things, vaccines, all sorts of things.
TURNER: Ok, since you’re talking about vaccines of course I need to ask you about Covid and the Covid vaccine. Do you do the Covid testing here and when the vaccines are ready will you be able to offer them?
GRANT: So, as far as testing, we started in this very early and so in the middle of March right when Covid testing became a thing. ExperCare was very involved and so, yes, we consider ourselves experts in the testing realm. We have rapid, antigen testing available on site at all of our locations including downtown. We added a car side visit which means patients who are having symptoms or think they may have been exposed are not actually seen in the clinic. We go to them and see them in their car. And we’re able to do that 15-minute test. We’re also able to send off a PCR test and get those results in as soon as 24-48 hours. And, then the vaccine, that’s all, that’s all the talk right now. So, the vaccine, yes, it should be available soon we’re all hearing. We are in line, signed up and registered to be a distributor of that and we hope to know more about it just as soon as details are available and how we can be part of that initiative as well.
TURNER: So, how did you get started in the urgent care business? Do you have a medical background or what is your background?
GRANT: So, my background. I was trained as a physician assistant, a PA. I’ve been a PA over 16 years now – I can’t believe I’m saying that. And so, trained and worked in several different areas, worked in plastics, worked in physical medicine, rehab and orthopedics and moonlighted some in urgent care. And, when I married my husband and moved to Richmond Hill there was such a need for healthcare. There was just no access to healthcare there. So, for on-demand healthcare. People had to drive to the ER in Savannah. And so, it was this beautiful sort of combination of the rebirth of the urgent care industry (we used to call them doc in the boxes, right, back in the ’80s) And, so back then it may have been more of a compromise to go there because nothing else was open. So, the rebirth of urgent care was less of a compromise and more of a first choice sort of thing. And so, as that industry was coming up we saw this opportunity in this community that needed healthcare. So, we decided, “We can do that,” and we can do it and deliver excellent customer service, excellent healthcare and obviously, we were right. The community loved it and they’ve just been rallying around us since then. So, we added back into Savannah very close to where I grew up in Mayfair and now downtown.
TURNER: That’s got to be really rewarding for you to offer this now downtown and see how this is growing and you’re serving the people you grew up with.
GRANT: Yes, it’s such a humbling thing to be able to give back and to be part of creating solutions in a community that you’ve grown up in and that you love and are passionate about. So, I have to pinch myself sometimes because it’s one of those things. I’m excited to get to do it. It’s not a “have to” kind of thing. It’s a lot of fun.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/blog-20210125-2.png8961600Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2021-01-25 21:51:382021-01-25 21:51:38WSAV’s The Bridge Interviews ExperCARE CEO Catherine Grant
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/blog-20210106.jpg14161310Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2021-01-06 01:43:582021-01-06 01:59:13ExperCARE Makes the Front Cover of Connect Savannah!
ExperCARE is proud to have recently donated over 3,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to area churches ahead of their holiday services.
They say their primary concern is their patient’s health and wellbeing. “2020 has been a year of challenge and change for every business, family and person,” said ExperCARE CEO and founder Catherine Grant. “ExperCARE is grateful for the patients who choose us as their first choice for on demand healthcare. We want everyone to do their part to keep safe during the holidays and we’re happy to help in this small way.”
In an effort to spread holiday cheer and promote hand hygiene, ExperCARE is thankful for the opportunity to deliver hand-held hand sanitizers to 25 different churches in the Savannah and Richmond Hill area.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/blog-20210105.jpg740961Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2021-01-06 01:39:382021-01-06 01:39:38ExperCARE Donates Thousands of Hand Sanitizers to Area Churches for Holiday Services
It’s official! We are OPEN for business! Mayor Van Johnson helped us in celebrating the official opening of our new historic Savannah location with a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Monday, November 23rd. Also in attendance for the Ribbon Cutting, ExperCARE’s Medical Director Dr. Robert Mazur, Director of Occupational Medicine Dr. David Carson, ExperCARE’s Founder and CEO Catherine Grant, Co-Founder and President of Grant Homes, Inc and Grant Built, D. Scott Grant, and several other members of our award-winning, ExperCARE team. Thank you to Savannah’s WJCL and Connect Savannah for covering this milestone event!
ExperCARE’s newest clinic will be the first of its kind in the downtown area, expanding its reach to downtown business owners, residents and out-of-town visitors. Thank you Savannah for the warm welcome, visits and letters making us feel right at home in downtown Savannah. This is ExperCARE’s third convenient location in the area.
Scott Grant of Grant Homes, Inc and Grant Built was the mastermind behind the incredible building renovation project which was done in partnership with the principles of commercial real estate company, Gilbert & Ezelle, a Cushman & Wakefield Alliance partner. Gilbert & Ezelle are now located and operated on the second floor of the building with ExperCARE occupying the ground floor. The newly renovated, 2,000-square-foot clinic at 818 Abercorn St. is now open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. The state-of-the-art facility is equipped to handle a full-range of heath care needs, including but not limited to urgent care, such as illness, injuries, stitches/splinting and a full range of lab services, as well as routine care and occupational medicine such as physicals, drug and alcohol testing, PFTs, audiometry and access to an experienced board-certified provider, every hour that they are open. ExperCARE offers digital x-rays on site that are overread by a board-certified Radiologist every hour they are open. In addition, all types of COVID testing, including rapid antigen testing, PCR testing and antibody testing.
ExperCARE is In-Network with major health insurers and never requires an appointment. However, for patient convenience, you can book ahead on their website. Affordable cash rates are also available. ExperCARE is locally owned and operated with three locations. The Richmond Hill clinic opened in 2009, followed by the expansion into Savannah on Mall Boulevard in 2016 and the newest downtown location on Abercorn Street in 2020.
To learn more about our services, our team, or see the answers to our frequently asked questions, please explore our website! We look forward to serving you and becoming your most-loved healthcare resource in the region!
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/blog-20201130-img-1.jpg14102000Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2020-11-30 23:33:302020-11-30 23:39:53Mayor Van Johnson Welcomes ExperCARE to Downtown Savannah During Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
After having just opened our newest downtown location on Abercorn Street, Nov 16th, we were thrilled to sponsor the Downtown Business Association’s first in-person meeting on Nov. 18. It was a pleasure to meet and mingle with the downtown business owners who will be a huge part of our new downtown clinic. We were able to share with them not only the award-winning urgent care and routine care services we offer, but also the full range of occupational medicine services, including experienced workers compensation injury evaluation and treatment, drug and alcohol testing, PFT’s, audiometry, lab and radiological testing, rapid and PCR COVID testing and much more.
We received so much positive feedback from the attendees and association members regarding the opening of our state-of-the-art clinic in the downtown market and the significant improvement of access to excellent quality healthcare, that is in-network with insurance! DBA members were also excited about the access for residents and the many visitors that travel to Savannah every year.
Visit Savannah President Joe Marinelli’s presence as the keynote speaker at the event was also fortuitous. Although we expect downtown businesses and residents to make up the majority of our patients, our business model also includes service to tourists visiting our great city. We are so grateful for hospitality leaders like Mr. Marinelli’s team who have done their best to encourage tourism this year and are making plans for a better 2021. We’re excited to be in the position to serve as downtown Savannah’s most-loved healthcare provider, especially as the economy and tourism industry continue to grow into the next year.
Local businesses in downtown Savannah were hit pretty hard during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic, but city officials say tourists are slowly coming back to town. The Downtown Business Association and Visit Savannah leaders held their monthly luncheon today to keep business owners updated. Fox 28’s Cody Thomas was there and gave a look into the future of Savannah’s tourism during the pandemic.
Visit Savannah President Joe Marinelli calls the current state of Savannah’s tourism a “tale of two stories.”
“Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, our occupancies continue to be low, generally in the 45 to 55 percent range. But on the weekends, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, our occupancies are getting up into the mid-70s and even mid-80s,” Marinelli said.
Marinelli said the good news is leisure travelers are coming back into town, but the bad news is there are still few business travelers and no conventions, or meetings, which keep the weekday numbers down.
“All of those kinds of events really stimulate higher occupancy numbers where we would typically be in the 70 percent range mid-week, and in the 90 percent range on the weekends,” he said.
He also said hotel/motel tax collections are running at about 48 percent of what they expected this year. But one of their main focuses remains on the Visit Savannah campaign which aims to get drive-market visitors into town.
“When tourism gets back to normal, we feel confident that we’ll rebound,” J. Parker Limited Owner Dale Parker said. J. Parker Limited in Savannah was shut down most of April. Dale said local traffic is what kept them afloat. “That can make the difference between a business surviving and not,” Parker said.
Catherine Grant also just opened Expercare Health downtown on Monday and said though there were challenges, she’s confident in the community’s support.
Catherine Grant, CEO/Founder of Expercare Health: “It’s everything, we love to serve the visitors that come, of course for their intermittent needs, but being able to serve the communities that you live in is what it’s really all about,” Grant said.
Marinelli also said they’re continuing to market toward cities that have nonstop air service to Savannah’s airport.
https://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/blog-img-20201125-scaled.jpg18972560Emma Rhodeshttps://expercarehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Expercare-Logo-UPC.svgEmma Rhodes2020-11-26 02:16:492020-11-26 02:24:12ExperCARE Sponsors First Downtown Business Association Meeting