Penn Medicine closed its South Philly urgent care center
Penn said patients were shifting to telemedicine and it would find a better use for the location at South Broad and Passyunk Avenue.
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The University of Pennsylvania Health System last week closed its urgent care center in South Philadelphia, citing increased use of telemedicine by patients who might otherwise go to an urgent-care center for their ailment.
Penn said it will open a cardiology practice in the urgent care’s space at Constitution Health Plaza, at the intersection of South Broad Street and Passyunk Avenue. The building is the site of the former St. Agnes Hospital, which closed in 2004.
The location was Penn’s only urgent care center in Philadelphia.
Lancaster General, which Penn acquired in 2015, operates seven urgent care centers, mostly in Lancaster County, according to its website.
Consumers in South Philadelphia have other options for urgent care. American Family Care has a center at 1444 W. Passyunk Ave., a short walk from the former Penn location. Philadelphia-based Vybe has a location at 1217 S. Broad St. Closer to Center City, Carbon Health has an urgent care center at 701 S. Broad St.
American Family is a franchise operation based in Birmingham, Ala. Vybe and Carbon, which is headquartered in San Francisco, are growing with the help of private equity backing.
Other major Philadelphia health systems have not made big pushes into urgent care. Jefferson Health has five of the centers, including some that it inherited through acquisitions. Temple Health has three centers in Northeast Philadelphia and Port Richmond.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with Penn’s plans to open a cardiology practice in the former urgent care center’s space.