CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Effective May 29, the Acute Care Clinic will close until further notice to better manage access because of reduced staffing due to deployments and permanent changes of station. "Call-in" appointments rather than "walk-in" and wait in queue access will be implemented to meet acute care needs. This change does not mean less opportunity to receive acute care.

Starting on May 29 clients should call the appointment line at 784-2778 to book an acute appointment. As a reminder, an acute appointment is needed for a new (onset within 72 hours) medical condition for which care needs to be received within 24 hours to prevent additional disability, incapacitation or adverse outcome.

Because of personnel shortage, there will be a limited number of in-house appointments available for the next few months. When demand for acute appointments exceeds clinic supply, a nurse or provider will contact each individual seeking acute care within, 24 hours, if not the same day, to determine an appropriate course of action. This may include a clinic appointment, referral to an off-base network provider or home health care advice.

All acute or urgent care clinic visits off-base require prior approval from a 27th Medical Group Primary Care Manager to avoid out-of-pocket expense to the sponsor.