ELIZABETHTOWN — Many nurses do what they love, caring for patients, without asking for rewards or seeking accolades. Carol Butler of the Extended Hours Clinic in Elizabethtown is no exception. The clinic, which is located in the same facility as Bladen Medical Associates on East McKay Street, sees patients with any number of ailments and all age ranges, said Butler.

“The Extended Hours Clinic is open to everyone not just BMA patients,” said Butler.

The clinic is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. and handles everything from sore throats to stitches, said Butler. The Extended Hours Clinic shares a common entrance with Bladen Medical Associates. Butler said patients simply tell the staff at the registration desk they are there for the Extended Hours Clinic and the staff will gather the necessary information needed for their visit and guide them to the waiting area for Extended Hours patients. 

Butler added, if you think you have a life threatening situation, she recommends going straight to the nearest hospital.

“If you think you may be having a heart attack or a stroke, do not delay treatment. Go straight to the Emergency Room,” said Butler.

Patients who utilize the Extended Hours Clinic can usually be seen more quickly than they will by going to the Emergency Department at the hospital. Butler said many patients who simply have a cold or the flu often face long waits at the ER.

“Come to the Extended Hours Clinic. That is what we are here for,” said Butler.

She added that patients think that by going to the ER, they will be given a dose of medicine during the ER visit and they will immediately begin to feel better. Butler said the may not necessarily be the case for all patients.

“For example if you have an ear ache in the middle of the night, many people will get up and go to the emergency room,” said Butler. “

She added that people often wrongly assume that because they have gone to the ER, the doctor will give them a dose of medicine and a prescription at before sending them home. Butler said many people think that if the doctor at the ER does give them a first dose of medicine at the hospital by the time they wake up in the morning they will feel better. That doesn’t always happen.

If the patient had simply waited a few more hours, the ear ache would be unpleasant, but that same patient could have come to the Extended Hours Clinic, been seen sooner, and still gotten a prescription with less wait time.

The visit to the Extended Hours Clinic is also more affordable than a visit to a hospital emergency room. According to Butler, the visit to the Extended Hours Clinic requires the same co-pay as an office visit. A visit to the hospital will cost the patient about $200 to be seen in the emergency room.

Lengthy and distinguished career

Butler has been a nurse since 1984 and most of her time was spent at Bladen County Hospital working either in the Emergency Department or ICU. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from UNC-Wilmington in 2007 and earned her certification as a nurse practitioner in 2008. She joined the Extended Hours Clinic which was once the Urgent Care.

According to Butler, when Urgent Care moved to the facility it shares with BMA, the name was changed to the Extended Hours Clinic.

Butler started out in primary care at BMA and moved over to the extended hours clinic where she now handles more acute care patients, but still gets to do the occasional primary care visit.

Butler recently received a surprise as she went through her usual routine at the clinic. She learned that she along with Sharon Baxley had been awarded the Great 100 Nurses in North Carolina award.

“Bladen County has never had one before,” said Butler. “This year we have two.”

The Great 100 Nurses award is a fundraiser for nursing scholarships, said Butler. 

The nurses selected are nominated by their peers for the honor.

“It is quite an honor and I never believed I would be selected. I do what I love,” said Butler.

Butler and Baxley will be feted at a black tie dinner in September in Greensboro.