Carilion Clinic Westlake

            Smith Mountain Lake entered a new era in health care options with the opening of Carilion Clinic Westlake at the end of July.

            Located behind Kroger at Westlake Towne Center, the clinic is a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art medical facility offering urgent care as well as physician specialists, a sleep lab and an emergency helipad.

            Bill Jacobsen, CEO and vice president for Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital, said extensive planning went into the $4 million facility, which Carilion built to make health care more convenient to lake area residents.

            “This new clinic will save Smith Mountain Lake residents from having to travel to Roanoke, Rocky Mount or Bedford for urgent care, specialists or imaging services,” Jacobsen said.

            Three specialty physicians rotate through the center four mornings a week, including gynecologists Paul Shuelleinne and Francis Moffitt of Rocky Mount on Tuesdays. Jacobsen said appointments are limited to basic exams,
but services may expand if there appears to
be a need.

            Roanoke-based cardiologists are accepting appointments for Mondays and Wednesdays. CT scans and x-ray machines will also be available.

            Patients may schedule appointments on Thursdays with Charles Harris, a general surgeon from Rocky Mount, who performs such procedures as colonoscopies, gall bladder surgery, lumpectomies and hernia repair.

            From 1 to 8 p.m. daily and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, the clinic accepts urgent-care patients. Jacobsen explained that the service is designed for patients who need to see a doctor but not in an emergency situation. Urgent care should be considered family practice without an appointment, he said.

            Jacobsen many of the patients who visit Carilion’s emergency rooms are not in trauma situations.

            “We still want people to call 911 if there’s a real emergency,” he emphasized.

            Physician Edmundo R. Rubio directs Carilion Clinic’s Pulmonary Sleep Center, which operates largely at night. However, Jacobsen said staff members are available during the day for patients who need to be tested. Respiratory problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep apnea are diagnosed and treated at the clinic, which also features two sleep rooms and two exam rooms.

            With 21 acres of land surrounding the facility, the clinic was designed for expansion. 

            “We know that the clinic will suit the community’s needs for now,” said Jacobsen. “As the support grows, we can grow with it.”

For more information about Carilion Clinic Westlake or to make an appointment, call 540.266.6000.