VILLA RICA, Ga. — A new kind of urgent care opened in Villa Rica, which hopes to provide mental health care, no appointment required.
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“If you can get urgent care when your arm hurts or your leg hurts, why can’t you get care when you are having psychiatric care or substance abuse,” Dr. Kenneth Genova, executive director at Willowbrooke Urgent Care for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, said.
Genova says the idea behind the urgent care was to fill a gap in mental health coverage, especially as Georgia often ranks in the lower quarter for access to mental health care.
“Statistics say the reason people do not seek treatment for mental health or substance use is because they don’t have access to care,” Paula Gresham, Vice President of Behavioral Health, said.
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A visit to the urgent care often starts with a free screening to assess the patient and figure out what they need.
“Normal people in their lives don’t know how to do all of these things; that’s our job to figure out what they need. And then after we screen you, we plug you into that care,” Genova told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.
After that, the urgent care says it will be able to treat you or provide resources for the longer-term care, if that’s what the patient requires.
The urgent care says it can address concerns such as depression, anxiety, stress, post-partum issues, and substance use disorders.
“The urgent care is an access point to care, it’s a starting point,” Gresham said.
The new urgent care is located at 20 Herrell Road, Suite 1, in Villa Rica.
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