Accelerated Urgent Care's Blackstone Avenue location in Fresno, where the company plans to add a neighboring clinic by end of March. Google Street View image

Accelerated Urgent Care is preparing to expand one of its busiest clinics, expanding services on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno.

It’s part of an effort to expand access to same-day care in high-demand areas. The existing clinic at the site fits in that category.

“There were already people waiting in their cars outside the clinic,” said Hunter Erickson, head of business development for Accelerated Urgent Care following a recent visit before opening hours. “There’s just a lot of need in that area for increased access.”

The location — formerly Popolo’s Pizza at 6789 N. Blackstone Ave. — is expected to open by the end of March.

“It’s one of our best locations in all the Central Valley,” Erickson said. “We’re in Fresno, we’re in Bakersfield and we go even down into Southern California, Inland Empire [and] Los Angeles. And it’s one of our top five locations.”

The clinic serves a high number of CalViva and Medi-Cal patients, many of whom face limited access to primary care or rely on emergency rooms for non-life-threatening conditions.

“A lot of people think they need to go to the ER for a lot of things and we provide a cost efficient, safe, time efficient alternative to the emergency room,” Erickson said.

CalViva patients can receive care through Accelerated Urgent Care at no cost through their benefits.

Urgent care clinics help reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments by treating illnesses and injuries that do not require critical care.

“Emergency rooms are incredibly expensive,” Erickson said. “Most health systems lose money on their ERs, and that’s because so many people go with conditions that just shouldn’t be seen in the ER.”

Additionally, the over-saturation of hospital emergency rooms during peak flu seasons create an additional strain on local hospital systems, clogging the waiting rooms and causing delays for patients in need of critical, emergency care.

Accelerated Urgent Care operates seven days a week from 8 a.m. to midnight.

Erickson said the Blackstone clinic’s visibility and proximity to daily destinations have made it a familiar option, especially for local residents seeking same-day care.

Accelerated Urgent Care currently operates one clinic in Fresno and one in Clovis, with 16 centers open across the system. The Blackstone expansion is the first of several expansions in the Fresno area, with two additional Fresno sites planned later this year. The first of those locations is expected to open by the end of summer.

Founded in 2012, Accelerated Urgent Care is owned by Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi and is headquartered in Bakersfield.