AFC Urgent Care Growing Danbury Franchise With Third Location

DANBURY, Conn. -- Like many crucial services nowadays, the nature of health care in Danbury is rapidly changing, and the old models of delivery – the doctor’s office, the emergency room – just don’t seem to fit everyone’s needs.

AFC Urgent Care Danbury co-owners Tom Kelly, holding the scissors, and Ron Krippner, second from right, cut the ribbon at the grand opening of their Main Street clinic in Danbury in 2013. AFC plans to open its third location in the city in February.
Photo Credit: *Provided*

Carol Reif

11/28/2016 5:00 a.m.

This is especially true with baby boomers, who need more and more care, and millennials starting their own families, say the folks at AFC Urgent Care.

The national network’s full-service, walk-in clinics have been popping up everywhere. In Danbury alone, there are two, and by early next year there will be three.

AFC, which has clinics at 2 Main St. and 100 Mill Plain Road, plans to open a third one at 74 Newtown Road in February.

AFC says its board-certified doctors, physician’s assistants and advanced practice registered nurses can do everything from stitching up cuts and setting broken bones to giving flu shots, conducting physicals and drawing blood for lab tests.

“Everything but major surgery,” said Amber Wilder, AFC’s corporate and community engagement director.

Wilder said AFC’s rapid growth is a response to consumer demands for more easily accessible care.

Danbury is densely populated, has a lot of big and small businesses, and its sprawling streets are not easy to get around, so, Wilder said, having a third location will help.

AFC’s clinics have ample parking and extended hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.) They accept almost any insurance, and you don’t have to be a Connecticut resident to use their services. There also are reduced rates for those who don’t have insurance, Wilder said.

AFC Urgent Care, formerly Doctors Express, opened its doors in 2013.

The AFC Danbury franchise’s co-owners -- Tom Kelly and Ron Krippner -- are a little unusual in that they don’t have medical backgrounds.

Kelly is a father of four who has had senior executive roles in the corporate world. Krippner, who has three children, is a former Wall Street executive.

According to the Urgent Care Association of America, only 7 percent of urgent care clinics in the nation are owned by non-physicians.

“We live in a world where fast food and pizza are at your fingertips, but good health care is not,” Kelly said, adding that AFC hopes to change that.

For more information about AFC Urgent Care Danbury, click here.

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