New Health & Wellness Center opens at Eastern

For scrapes, aches, colds, and other minor illnesses and injuries, there's a new spot at Johns Hopkins at Eastern where you can get checked out without missing too many beats at work.

Two weekday mornings, a certified nurse practitioner will be on hand in the new Employee Health & Wellness Center at Eastern to help assess and treat a range of nonemergency conditions. The medical examination room is almost like a small-scale "minute clinic"—but more convenient, and free.

Debuting this week, the service is available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 to 11 a.m. to any benefited Hopkins employee in the area. Same-day appointments can be set up by phone at 443-997-1700.

The center is a spinoff of the Employee Health & Wellness Center at Phipps, which has served Hopkins staffers in East Baltimore for nearly a decade. At Eastern, the new clinic is targeted to employees in that building as well as those from nearby locations, including Homewood, Keswick, and Mount Washington.

"If an employee has a minor, nonwork-related injury or illness, they can come get evaluated and treated, and then head back to work—or we'll refer them elsewhere for further services if needed," says Minnie Sanders, one of the facility's nurse practitioners and clinic manager of the Phipps center. "It saves our employees time so they don't have to take a whole day off work to visit their doctor for a minor, acute condition."

The services are HIPAA-compliant, so privacy is guaranteed for all patients.

The Employee Health & Wellness Center at Eastern is housed within the Occupational Health Services office, which provides services to help prevent and treat workplace injuries.

How to use the new clinic

1. Are you dealing with any of the following health conditions or something equivalent? If so, a visit to the center might be in order:

• cold
• cough
• red eye
• influenza
• sore throat
• sinus problems
• rash
• upset stomach
• fever
• sprain
• strain

Note that the center doesn't assess more serious or urgent conditions, such as chest pain, trauma, wounds needing sutures, or severe allergic reactions, or dental issues.

2. Book an appointment for Tuesday or Thursday (7:30-11 a.m.) by phone at 443-997-1700. The center is located in Suite C-160 (first floor) at Johns Hopkins at Eastern, 1101 East 33rd St.