PIKE COUNTY, Pa. — For people who live in Milford or anywhere in Pike County, a hospital or urgent care service is non-existent. They go out of the county for emergency health care.
"The people that live up by closer to Hawley area go to Wayne (County). The people who live in Greentown go to Scranton. The ones in Lehman go to Newtown, and the people down here they go to Bon Secours," said Pike County Commissioner Ronald Schmalzle.
But that may soon change. Sometime this summer, Northwell Health from New York City expects to open an urgent care facility along Route 739 near Milford.
"They approached us and said, 'We are here; I wonder if we could help.' And this is a conversation that started two and a half years ago," said Schmalzle.
"This is a big step forward because people go to the emergency room for things that urgent cares can handle and that won't be necessary here. Not only are they going to offer walk-in medical services, but you can also get diagnostics like lab and imaging," explained Pike County Commissioner Tony Waldron.
Commissioners say emergency health services are a vital need for the community as the population grows.
"When you get picked up in an ambulance to take you to a hospital, it takes that ambulance out of service for up to two and a half hours. It's a long drive there and a long drive back, so we really need this for the residents of Pike County," said Schmalzle.
A second urgent care location is also being planned for somewhere in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.
"We expect they'll be open by the end of the year, so the two of them will be up and running. We've made enough noise about it that people will be going. Some people have been like, 'When can I get there? I want to go now,'" said Waldron.
Pike County officials are also looking for a partner to build a small-scale hospital in the Lords Valley area. They expect that project is at least a few years down the road.
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