Novant Health’s women’s OB/GYN Urgent Care clinic opened last August and since then has helped many local women.

The clinic, which is also referred to as the women’s urgent care center, can be found on Southmore Drive in Charlotte.

It offers more specialized care after usual medical office hours and is an alternative to going directly to the emergency room for some needs.

“I’m proud and excited to say it’s one of the fastest growing initiatives that Novant Health has had. We definitely seem to certainly be meeting a need,” Augustus Parker III, director of Novant Health’s Woman’s Urgent Care Centers, said.

Abdominal and pelvic pain, menstrual problems, pregnancy and STD concerns and more are some of the conditions specialized doctors at the clinic work to assist women with. Instead of going to the emergency room, women can visit the clinic, which can have a shorter wait time and also has specialists in women’s health to help address their concerns, Parker said.

Novant Health felt there was a need for something like this in the community, which led to it opening last August. The center has been so successful that there is talk of creating others like it in other parts of the area, he said.

“I think the success for the Woman’s Urgent Care Center speaks for itself,” Parker said.

Since opening, he estimates that the center has been used by hundreds of women. On average they see between 60-100 patients a week. Currently it is open 5-9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. With the success of the center, he wouldn’t be surprised if its operating hours as well as its services  changed in the future with additional hours and services being offered, Parker said.

For more information about the Novant Health’s Woman’s Urgent Care Center and other services visit the hospital’s website at  novanthealth.org/urgentcare.