Urgent Care of Westchester Opens new Medical Office
by Linda Viertel
Westchester residents are now able to access convenient medical care for an injury or illness that requires immediate attention but is not serious enough to visit an emergency room. They can do so at Urgent Care of Westchester, located at 135 White Plains Road in Tarrytown, seven days a week, on late evenings and most holidays. Urgent Care’s newly renovated office provides easy and abundant parking, convenient access on 119, and no appointments are needed.
State Senators Pedro Espada Jr. and Andrea Stewart-Cousins pose with Dr. Jay Luthra and his wife, Vera Luthra at Urgent Care of Westchester office.
Urgent Care of Westchester, which opened in March, is the creation of Irvington residents Dr. Jay Luthra and his wife, Vera Luthra, M. Ed., MBA, who felt that this area needed “a bridge between primary care and the emergency room.”
“Urgent care” is a term for treatment of non life-threatening medical issues. It is a cheaper and quicker alternative to the emergency room, and foregoes the long waits.
Dr. Luthra, drector for the Emergency Department at New York Westchester Square Medical Center in the Bronx, is board certified in emergency medicine and, as Mrs. Luthra said, “lives in the community and feels it is important to be here serving local patients.”
While Dr. Luthra has spent years in emergency room service and has opened offices in the Bronx and Middleton, New York with other partners, this rivertown office is a solo business venture. Dr. Luthra provides care with two part-time doctors: Vasilios Pitsios, M.D. and Prashant Mannam, M.D. who are also both board certified primary care physicians. In addition, two physicians’assistants who are trained to see patients independently, and three medical assistants are on staff. At any given time, there are always two medically trained professionals in the office, and this number will expand over time.
“Families with children don’t need to go to the emergency room as a last resort if they don’t have to, “said Mrs. Luthra. “Here the office is more friendly and less intimidating for children. Care is quicker and less costly.”
At Urgent Care, parents will not sit for hours waiting for emergency care, camp and school physicals, or to get signatures on physical forms. Urgent Care provides treatment for colds, coughs and fever, earaches, sore throats, and asthma. The office has the capability of doing X-rays, EKG’s, drawing blood for blood panels, DOT exams, strep throat tests, drug screening and employment physicals.
In addition, simple cuts, wounds and fractures can be treated as well as work-related injuries. High quality care is available on weekends, evenings and holidays (except for Easter and Christmas). Patients are often referred from nearby hotels when visiting the area and need immediate care.
Filling this gap for providing prompt and comprehensive medical care while accepting most major insurances and Workmen’s Comp is a new concept in medical services, one that Urgent Care of Westchester is now offering our communities.
For further information, call 372-7171 or visit www.ucowestchester.com.
Tarrytown Welcomes Sweetgrass Grill
by Linda Viertel
Tarrytown’s newest restaurant, Sweetgrass Grill, finally opened its doors on Main Street in April.
Owner David Starkey, from Sleepy Hollow, and Theresa McCarthy, from Tarrytown, are eager to show off the talents of their talented chef, Tom Lasley, who trained at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, as well as Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Their new American cuisine has been perfected over the time that Chef Lasley worked at Tomatillo, Starkey’s well-known and popular dining spot in Dobbs Ferry.
Locally and sustainably grown produce, meats and poultry are featured in a creative take on American cuisine. After three contractors and multiple delays, Sweetgrass Grill is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, and will be available for Sunday brunch by the summer. Starkey is quick to add, “Most people think the Village caused the delays, but the building department bent over backwards to help us overcome all our obstacles.” Finding the original building exterior, windows, and shutters adds a special indoor/outdoor feel to the dining room, highlighting the airy and delicate restoration.
Now, Sweetgrass has room for 15 at the bar and 55 altogether in the restaurant. Sidewalk dining will be available when weather permits. –Linda Viertel
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