Urgent care center opens in Lebanon

Urgent care center ClearChoiceMD is opening its second New Hampshire facility, this one in the Upper Valley.

The center, which provides medical care for conditions requiring immediate attention, but does not treat life-threatening injuries, will be located in the Miracle Mile Plaza in Lebanon.

ClearChoiceMD offers services that would normally require either a visit to a primary care provider or an emergency room, including treating colds and fevers, cuts needing stitches and minor fractures. The centers can take X-rays, give intravenous fluids and have labs and pharmacies.

The company, founded by Dr. Marcus Hampers of New London, opened its first center in Portsmouth in October. It has four centers in Vermont, with others planned for Belmont and Keene in New Hampshire and Scarborough, Maine, before the end of the year. A center is planned to open in Burlington, Vt., in January.

“Emergency rooms are becoming overcrowded with patients who, through no fault of their own, either don’t have a primary care physician or can’t get in to see their PCP for an acute visit. The end result for the patient is a very costly and inconvenient trip to the emergency room,” said Hampers.