ArchWell Health, a healthcare center focused on providing primary care for adults over 60 years old, opened its doors to Montgomery this week in the city’s Promenade North Shopping Center on Eastern Boulevard.
The senior healthcare brand currently runs locations in 9 states and had already entered Alabama in 2021 with three locations in the Birmingham area before setting up shop in Montgomery this week.
According to Census Reporter, an independent project that uses data from the American Community Survey, 16% of Montgomery’s population is over the age of 65 — a demographic with numbers that have risen in recent years. Tonisha Kelley, FNP, who started working with ArchWell Health in October of last year and has been practicing medicine since 2010, said that ArchWell’s interest in the Alabama state capital came from a desire to address a need.
“There’s a lack of primary care that’s available in the community. A lot of times, patients visit places like urgent care facilities because they don’t have access to primary care, which could be because primary care places are booked, and they can’t get in, or maybe there just isn’t a primary care office that’s around for them,” Kelley said. “Older adults are very vulnerable, and there’s definitely a need for affordable, accessible healthcare, so we’re just trying to bridge that gap.”
ArchWell offers a variety of services, including extended appointment times, same-day appointments, telehealth visits, in-house lab work and a 24/7 phone line that members can call to speak with a local provider. Additionally, each member gets a personalized care plan from their assigned provider, along with a care team of colleagues at the facility that help carry that plan out. Kelley said that, on account of these things, ArchWell prides themselves on being a “one stop shop” for anything an older adult may be looking for in terms of healthcare and community fulfillment.
Kelley said ArchWell’s mission isn’t just to make primary care more accessible for older adults, but it’s also to ensure quality of life through providing more specialized care.
“Sometimes, patients come in and they may not even be aware of certain conditions they have,” Kelley said. “Especially since we serve members that are over 60, they may have more challenges health-wise. We try to do preventative services to catch things early if they aren’t already diagnosed… Overall, we are trying to provide them with the best quality of life for however much life they have left.”
Kelley said where they really strive to shine is in their personalized approach.
“We try to greet everyone and know their names so that when they come in, they feel welcome,” Kelley said. “We try to make it feel like home, like we’re family. You’re not just a number; we’re not trying to just get you in and get you out to meet a quota. We want you here, we want you happy, we want you healthy. You could have chosen to go anywhere, but you chose us, and we want to show that appreciation to everyone who comes in.”
In addition to the services available to maintain seniors’ physical health, ArchWell also has a community center that hosts activities such as chair yoga, Zumba, knitting and crochet classes, nutrition classes and other events that are either based in substantiating the members’ mental well-being or hobbies.
Kelley said that giving seniors a sense of community through events like these is important to mitigate isolation and loneliness, which is a big problem for older adults. According to America’s Health Rankings, Alabama has one of the higher scores on the index of social isolation, scoring an 83 on a scale of 1 to 100, with higher values indicating higher risk.
“In one of the centers, we had some ladies that came in and played cards,” Kelley said. “They would come once a week, every week, play cards and have snacks and juices, and that was just… what they did. It gave them a purpose, and they looked forward to doing that every week. It’s important [to have spaces like this] to help them not feel isolated and lonely, and make sure they know they have others in their corner.”
Kelley emphasized the personalized community as ArchWell’s biggest asset in filling a gap in primary care in Montgomery.
“Even if you don’t have an appointment today, maybe there’s an event that you’ll come for, and we’re still going to greet you, still ask how you are, how your dog is,” Kelley said. “I think that’s what sets us apart from other facilities.”
ArchWell Health is located at 2232 Eastern Boulevard in the Promenade North Shopping Center. Their hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. New members can call ArchWell at 334-801-0205.
Sarah Clifton covers business for the Montgomery Advertiser. You can reach her at sclifton@montgome.gannett.com or follow her on X @sarahgclifton.