The RMD Urgent Care center located on Teaneck Road recently reopened under Jewish management as Friendly Urgent Care. Consisting of a staff of well-trained physicians and assistants on a rotating schedule, Friendly Urgent Care plans to continue to deliver to the community respectful and immediate treatment for emergency situations. Under this new management, the center provides accommodations to Jews and follows a system that allows patients to seek treatment without violating the laws of shamor and zachor.
Friendly Urgent Care is run by business partners Yonah Carlebach and Binyamin Nadler. Carlebach, who is related to acclaimed singer Shlomo Carlebach, explained that the business is “frum owned,” and that their slogan is “ER skills without the ER bills.” While the partners took over the business in the middle of October, Yonah is very optimistic about the company’s potential. “So far every story has been a success,” Yonah shared. “Patients have been happy with the treatment they’ve received, and we haven’t had any complaints. Sometimes a patient needs to come back for a follow-up treatment, but we usually recommend they follow up with their primary care doctor.” While the center thus far hasn’t been faced with any major emergencies, Yonah said that the center is ready for anything.
Two to three doctors are continually on call at Friendly Urgent Care. Regarding the system that separates Friendly Urgent Care from other such centers, Yonah explained that Jews are not required to write anything and are allowed to defer payment for their treatment until after Shabbat. This is a revolutionary concept, and is something residents have been requesting for years.
Yonah has worked in the health industry for many years. After working with his company, Ocean Home Health, which is the largest durable medical equipment company in New Jersey, Yonah decided to go into the urgent care industry. While hiring his staff of well-trained physicians, Yonah also took on a top-of-the-line medical director, Dr. Hillel Peltz. Dr. Peltz is in high demand throughout the country, and Yonah is very happy to have him on board. Looking forward, Yonah says that he is very excited about running the new center.
“This is mostly the season of the cold and the sore throat,” Yonah explained, regarding the most common ailments for which people have come to the center seeking treatment. “And we’ll give them a prescription for antibiotics or whatever the case is. If a suture is needed, we do that as well.”
The center is also well equipped with modern technology. Yonah went on to explain how “we have a full digital x-ray machine here. We’ll always do vitals on everybody before they are actually treated just to make sure they are in decent health to accept the treatment and or medication.”
Regarding new programs the center is starting, there is one about which Yonah is very excited. “We’re starting a new program with heart health,” Yonah said. “We brought in a very new machine. It’ll measure the heart rate variability of a patient, and it will tell them how healthy their arteries are. In the beginning we will offer that as a preservice. It’s normally done in a primary care doctor or cardiologist’s office. But being that we have a background in it, we’re going to offer it initially at no cost.” In the coming months, Yonah hopes to also see pediatric and orthopedic programs added.
Yonah stressed the importance of the first word in the center’s new title, “friendly.” “We take a lot of pride in the way we treat our patients,” Yonah explained. “Always with a smile.” As for what Yonah wants the public to know about his company: “It is my fervent wish that people should never get sick,” Yonah explained. “But if they do we’ll always be here, ready to help.”
When faced with an emergency, many people are unsure whether to go straight to the emergency room, visit their primary care doctor or seek an urgent care center. For Yonah, the deciding factor should be on the severity of the problem.“Part of the function of the urgent care is that many people don’t want to make appointments and want to be seen immediately,” Yonah explained. “Anything from minor scrapes to minor brakes and sore throats, all your typical day-to-day ailments are things that we handle. If a patient has severe chest pain, we would not recommend they come here. We would recommend they go straight to the emergency room.”
Friendly Urgent Care is located at 1428 Teaneck Road. They are open late motzei Shabbat.
By Adam Samuel
Adam Samuel is a journalist from Teaneck. When he isn’t busy reading the daily news, he divides his time between managing his blog, adamssoapbox.blog, and gradually learning how to play piano.
