YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Mercy Health has announced on Monday that it is expanding access to rural health care in the Mahoning Valley.

Walk-in care is now available at Mercy Health East Palestine Primary Care, and virtual specialty care sites are also available there, as well as Mercy Health Sebring Primary Care.

Mercy Health Youngstown and Lorain Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Jim Kravec says Mercy is continuing to adapt to the changing healthcare needs of Valley residents.

"We know access to care close to home can significantly impact health outcomes for patients, which is why we're expanding access in our rural communities," Dr. Kravec said.

Walk-ins are available at East Palestine Primary Care Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and are equivalent to an appointment with a primary care provider. This would be Mercy's ninth walk-in clinic in the Valley.

With the virtual specialty clinics in East Palestine and Sebring, patients can have appointments with their specialty care providers from the convenience of their primary care practices. Currently, these virtual appointments are available to oncology and cardiology patients.

Each location has specific rooms equipped with virtual conferencing technology to enable patients to interact with their specialty care provider while having a medical assistant on site. These are typically follow-up or consultation appointments.

If blood work or other testing is needed, it can be done on site within the primary care office.