Short Wait Times, Affordable Fees At Local
wellington | health
AFC Urgent Care Clinic Story by M. Dennis Taylor • Photo by Abner Pedraza
American Family Care Urgent Care marks its two-year anniversary in December treating patients from its state-of-the-art location on Southern Blvd. at B Road in Loxahatchee Groves, right across the street from Wellington at Binks Forest Drive. Franchise owner Josie Lapidot, a physician in her native Mexico, opened the facility when she moved to Wellington in 2017. “I’m a paramedic in the State of Florida, and I do administrative work at the practice,” she explained. “I wanted a business that was medical related.” Lapidot moved to the United States in 2003 and lived in Miami for 14 years before settling in the western communities. “I wanted to do something related to medicine, but I don’t have a license as a physician in the United States,” she said. “I didn’t even try to earn one when I was first here because at the time, my kids were little, and it was going to be too much time away from the family.” The required residency program is a commitment of 80 hours a week and that would have kept her away from her family, Lapidot explained. “I got a license as a paramedic and later began to investigate the AFC franchise. I did my homework for a year. I met with them several times. I met with other franchisees. They are a very good operation, and then I bought the franchise and opened this location,” Lapidot said. With her children now teenagers, Lapidot has time for the business. Her daughter, Lia, is now 14, and her son, Isidoro, is 13 years old.” Lapidot loves the lifestyle in Wellington. “I used to ride horses in Mexico, but this job and the family takes all of my time,” she said.
The clinic provides walk-in urgent care with X-ray, lab and primary care. That is a unique feature for an urgent care clinic. “If you want to see your primary care provider on Sunday at 7 p.m., you can just walk in. Plus, you don’t have to worry about a long wait, and the fees are much less than a traditional emergency room,” Lapidot said. With AFC Urgent Care open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 365 days a year, it is truly convenient. “It is not like trying to make an appointment with a physician and you have to wait three weeks,” she said. “With our clinic, you can see the provider quickly.” Lapidot is very proud of the customer service offered at AFC Urgent Care. “We really care. We treat everyone like kings and queens. We get great reviews. We have award-winning service. We accept all insurance, and we have an extremely comprehensive range of services for a clinic,” she said. The services include the typical urgent care for cuts and broken bones — non-life-threatening injuries — and also medical needs such as occupational medicine. physicals for sports and jobs, including physical fitness tests for construction work, all workers’ compensation and primary care treatments. The facility is certified to do the Department of Transportation’s specific physicals. There are even tests for construction workers to determine before they’re hired if they’re able to perform the job adequately.
Josie Lapidot owns the local American Family Care Urgent Care franchise.
“We have an in-house lab and X-rays on site, and we offer self-pay discounts,” Lapidot said. “An attractive benefit is that a visit to AFC Urgent Care doesn’t take up your whole day. On a few occasions when we were swamped with patients, we have even been known to tell a walk-in patient realistically what the wait will be so they could go somewhere else and not spend so much time waiting.” Lapidot stresses quick service for patients. “The benchmark of time in and out for us is within an hour,” she said. “We will work as quickly as we can without being rushed.” For more information, visit www.afcurgentcareloxgroves.com, call (561) 220-0737 or walk in between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at 15689 Southern Blvd., Suite 101, in Loxahatchee Groves. wellington the magazine | november 2019
87