Dr. Meredith Porter in one of the exam rooms.
Whether people need same-day, walk-in or virtual medical care, they can now find it in Chantilly at the Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care in the Greenbriar Town Center. Located beside the Giant grocery store, it held a gala ribbon cutting Nov. 29, 2023 to mark its arrival in the community.
It opened Nov. 15, on the one-year anniversary of GoHealth in Virginia. Hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and patients from 6 months and up are welcome. They may just come in or make an appointment at www.gohealthuc.com.
The facility is more than 2,500 square feet, with four exam rooms, plus an X-ray room. It has a rotating staff of four healthcare providers comprised of doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants. And if a patient needs to see a specialist, GoHealth can make a direct referral to other doctors within the Inova healthcare system.
“We deal with illnesses, injuries, worker’s comp cases, X-rays, sports physicals – the full gamut of urgent-care services,” said Erica Cervantes, senior director of operations for the Inova GoHealth partnership in Virginia. “We’ve received a great reception here. The residents have embraced us, and we’re so excited to be part of this charming community.”
Smiling after the ribbon cutting are participants including Doug Church, Stephen Motew, Meredith Porter, Erica Cervantes (with scissors), Harold Brown, Pat Herrity, Kathy Smith and Jennifer Rose.
Harold Brown, GoHealth regional president, explained why Chantilly was chosen for this new center. “We’re always looking to create access to healthcare,” he said. “So with the number of people who live and work in this community, it made sense for us to open here.”
During the ceremony before the ribbon cutting, Cervantes addressed the attendees. She said GoHealth was happy to celebrate its one-year partnership anniversary with Inova. She also stressed that “We exist to serve our patients. And when they experience a sudden illness or injury and want to see a doctor within an hour – or squeeze in a last-minute sports physical on the way to practice – we make it easy to receive care.”
“This center is one of 15 serving Northern Virginia, with more on the way,” continued Cervantes. “Our neighbors living near this center are part of a much broader community, and every one of them is deserving of quality care – and access to that care.”
Next, Dr. Meredith Porter, this center’s medical director, said she loved “having everyone here to welcome and to open up this beautiful center with us. We deliver connected care, with every effort to improve access, overall cost and quality. We also offer more affordable care than our emergency department and yet deliver that same, high-quality care for which Inova is nationally recognized. And here in Greenbriar, we look forward to bringing outstanding care that’s integrated to our Fair Oaks community which we’re privileged to serve.”
Dr. Stephen Motew, Inova’s chief clinical officer, expressed appreciation for the Inova-GoHealth leadership team, the community support, first responders and primary-care providers. “This is our 15th center in a 12-month period,” he said. “And that pace of growth is expected to continue as we focus on providing much-needed access to a seamless system of care for our communities and our patients.”
Besides walk-in care, seven days a week, said Motew, people may also schedule their visits to the center, up to 48 hours in advance. “With the seasonal illnesses we’re seeing, we also see our Inova-GoHealth partnership as critical to connecting people to the Inova health system,” he said. “With our five Inova hospitals here, over the last five years, we’ve intentionally focused on creating a system of care from the start to the end of someone’s life.”
Pointing at the Washington Nationals mascot there, Motew added, “Through our sports-team support, our work with our community chambers of commerce, and local events, our GoHealth team really helps us make those connections. We’re here and ready to support our communities.”
Then, Jennifer Rose, executive director of the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, said, “What a great day to be celebrating good health in Greenbriar. Welcome to the neighborhood.”
Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) also welcomed the center to the Springfield District and recognized the first responders serving that area, calling them a “key part” of the medical system the other speakers mentioned. And he acknowledged the presence of Supervisor Kathy Smith (D-Sully), who lives in Chantilly, at the ceremony.
“Inova is an award-winning hospital and an award-winning system,” said Herrity. “It’s the system of choice for me, certainly. I’ve used this GoHealth model in West Springfield, and it’s incredible when you really need care. It’s really hard these days to get an appointment with a doctor – a G.P. [general practitioner] or otherwise. So the ability to schedule one in an hour or two works really well, and the service and referrals are great.
“I can’t say enough about the Inova system, and the expansion of these [urgent-care centers] into our communities – where people really need them – is absolutely critical. It’s a quality operation and we look forward to seeing more.”
Then Brown thanked the Inova executives who were there and led everyone in applauding the arrival of the firefighters from Station 21 in Fair Oaks.
Next came the ribbon cutting and a tour of the building – but all the while, it was business as usual for the center’s staff, which kept working throughout the ceremony.