Wake Forest, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/28/2015 -- Across the United States, Urgent Care is growing. According to the Urgent Care Association of America (UCAA), eighty-three percent of Urgent Care centers experienced growth in 2013 and expected major growth in the following years. The focus of Urgent Care is on filling the gap between emergency rooms and Primary Care doctors, providing patients with access to fast, high-quality medical care for minor emergencies when their doctor's office is not open. However, in recent surveys, UCAA discovered nearly thirty-seven percent of the patients visiting Urgent Care centers are not being cared for by a Primary Care doctor.

In response to patients' need to receive follow-up care from a Primary physician once they leave the Urgent Care facility, Heritage Urgent and Primary Care is introducing their own Primary Care services. Instead of having to travel to another location or seek the help of another medical professional to provide follow-up after an emergency, patients can now simply return to Heritage for further treatment.

Beth Norton, owner of Heritage Urgent and Primary Care (formerly Heritage Urgent Care) and an experienced Physician Assistant with a solid background in emergency care, stated "The high number of patient requests for Primary Care services played a big role in Heritage making this change. We truly care about our patients, and we want to do everything we can to make it easier for them to have ongoing access to quality care. Heritage Urgent and Primary Care's motto is "Putting The Care Back In Health Care", and that's exactly what the introduction of Primary Care services allows us to accomplish."

Because of her fourteen years of experience in Emergency Medicine, Norton's motivation for opening Heritage Urgent and Primary Care was to develop a community-based practice focusing on excellent medical care and access to service. As Norton explains, "Heritage's Primary Care services will benefit our patients, as all insurance contracts will be under Primary Care instead of Urgent Care, allowing a broader scope of services and medical workups. In addition, by developing a Primary Care Division, all patients will pay a Primary Care Co-pay, even when seen as a walk-in patient for Urgent Care. Our facility has x-ray and EKG machines on site, and we are able to save our patients a great deal of time since they can now receive Primary Care and Urgent Care in the same place."

Dr. Charlie Foster is the Medical Director at Heritage and has been practicing Primary Care medicine for a total of 15 years. In addition, Beth has a staff of experienced Physician Assistants who stand ready to help patients in need of care.

"Our goal is to serve our patients in the best way possible. The team at Heritage knows that we are here to provide excellent care for patients who want to get and stay well. We understand that when we make access to medical care more convenient, patients are more likely to take advantage of it. Heritage Urgent and Primary Care wants to see the people of Wake Forest lead better, healthier lives, and patients can visit http://www.heritageurgentcare.com/ to learn more about how our Primary Care services will help them do just that."

About Heritage Urgent and Primary Care
Heritage Urgent and Primary Care offers a wide range of services, including a procedure room for wound repairs and orthopedic splinting, x-ray on site, laboratory for onsite and send out labs, strep tests, rapid flu tests, urinalysis and pregnancy tests, vaccines, gynecologic exams and testing, and wellness. In addition, Heritage uses its local imaging centers during weekday hours for further diagnostic testing such as ultrasound or CT scans. Heritage's goal is to provide excellent and efficient medical care and service, in a comfortable and unique environment, with extended hours and weekend hours for patient convenience.