Tampa Optum clinic keeps patients out of the ER

Clinic education helps patients get the right care in the right place at the right time

At 85, Adalberto Zapata has his share of health problems. Diabetes, kidney disease and heart failure are a few of the chronic conditions his doctors have been treating him for at the Optum – Fountain Oak clinic in Tampa, Florida.

Even so, Adalberto hasn’t seen the inside of an emergency room since 2023. He and his wife know they will receive good care without waiting by calling their health care team instead.

“We like to call the clinic first before going to an ER,” Adalberto’s wife and caregiver, Gloria Zapata said. “We feel comfortable there.”

The clinic team also has Adalberto’s records, which was important in August, when he developed a fever, congestion and exhaustion.

“I was concerned,” said Yesica Rios, RN, who was on the team that treated Adalberto that day. “He was really, really weak; we had to use a wheelchair to get him into the clinic.”

Though many 85-year-olds would probably have ended up in the emergency room instead of at their primary care office by the time they were that sick, Optum-Fountain Oak has developed several strategies to help educate their patients to “call us first.”

Among them, everyone at the clinic knows to reassure every patient they can call the clinic at any time, day, night and holidays, before resorting to the ER. Staff and clinicians remind patients regularly of their after-hours and Saturday clinics and provide them with wallet cards, keys cards and refrigerator magnets listing the clinic’s phone number.

In addition, the clinic schedules same-day appointments with a nurse when needed and can arrange for transportation for the patient to get to the clinic. They also can send a health care professional to a patient’s home if they are too sick to go to the clinic.

“We always do our best to help and support our patients and to be their first choice when new medical concerns arise,” Yesica said.

Part of that support involves staying in touch with the clinic’s sickest patients.

“Nurses call certain patients weekly or biweekly, depending on how sick they are,” Yesica said. “And we follow up with the patient about labs or diagnostic test results as soon as possible if treatment is needed.”

Adalberto tested positive for COVID-19 during his visit. The clinic team started him on an IV and prescribed medication, and by the next day, he was much better.

The treatment for an illness that may have taken several hours in the ER and cost much more than office visit was managed in the comfort and familiarity of the Adalberto’s regular PCP office by professionals they knew.

Case in point: “At his next appointment he was walking with his walker and looked stronger and very stable,” Yesica said. “We prevented an ER visit, but he and his wife did their part. They love our caring attitude.”