About Priority 1 Urgent Care

The Benefits of Urgent Care

Urgent care provides easy access to patients seeking care for various illness and injuries that should be taken care of sooner rather than later. Although these problems can often be dealt with in a primary doctor’s office, urgent care is able to assist when a patient either doesn’t have a primary doctor or the primary doctor is unable to see the patient at a time that meets the needs of the patient or their problem. In addition to regular business hours, urgent care offices are open weekends, evenings, and most holidays. Access to Priority 1 Urgent Care is easy, you never need an appointment to be seen.

Primary doctors do an excellent job providing preventative health care and looking after a wide variety of chronic medical needs. Urgent care is designed to treat the problems facing you today, and the primary doctor may suggest a visit to Priority 1 Urgent Care if they feel you would benefit from the kind of services found at an urgent care practice but not always available in a primary doctor’s office (EKG, stitches, X-Ray, IVs, etc).

In cases where your primary physician might send you to a hospital emergency room for a non-emergency condition, urgent care can eliminate a lot of the waiting and expense usually experienced in the ER since urgent care is always practiced at a much lower cost compared to an ER visit. At Priority 1 Urgent Care our goal is to provide high quality acute medical care, provided by a team of dedicated and experienced urgent care professionals, 100% focused on caring for you.

Jonathan S. Halpert, MD FACEP

Dr. Jonathan Halpert graduated from the Albany Medical College and completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. He worked in several area emergency departments prior to transitioning to urgent care practice, first with the Prime Care Physician’s group as their urgent care medical director, and later as the St. Peter’s Health Partners urgent care medical director. Dr. Halpert founded Priority 1 Urgent Care in April 2019, and has been closely involved in the evolution of urgent care practice throughout the Capital Region. He is an active participant in urgent care and health policy planning and administration throughout the northeast in his roles as a founding member, past president, Director, and Government Affairs Chair with the North East Regional Urgent Care Association.

Prior to and since becoming a physician, Dr. Halpert worked extensively in community-based emergency medical services. He spent many years as a paramedic provider in the Capital District and Mid-Hudson Valley regions of New York, was a former EMS administrator with the Town of Guilderland, and worked extensively as an EMS educator. He is the former Chair of the Paramedic Advisory Committee at Hudson Valley Community College and has also served as medical director for the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Urban Search and Rescue Team. Dr. Halpert is the Medical Director of the North Bethlehem/Elmwood Park Fire Department, and has assisted as a volunteer medical director for several Capital District area fire and EMS agencies over the years.

Dr. Halpert holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Skidmore College, and completed additional pre-medical course work at Hudson Valley Community College and the University at Albany prior to entering medical school. When he is not practicing medicine Dr. Halpert enjoys all manner of sport fishing as well as playing in several area softball leagues and spending time with his family.

Vanita K. Shoemaker, MD

Dr. Vanita Shoemaker is a board-certified Family Medicine specialist. Dr. Shoemaker grew up in the Syracuse New York area, having attended college at the University of Rochester prior to medical school at SUNY-Upstate Medical University at Syracuse. She completed residency training in Family Medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse.

Dr. Shoemaker’s career has taken her to positions in North Carolina, Washington D.C., and Maryland, before eventually settling back in upstate New York, with the vast majority of her medical work having been performed in the urgent care setting. Dr. Shoemaker most recently worked as an Attending Physician at St. Peter’s Urgent Care in Albany. Vanita says she is particularly drawn to urgent care, as she finds the variety and challenges of urgent care practice to be a rewarding and enjoyable way to best utilize her family medicine training.

When not at work, Dr. Shoemaker can be found in her minivan, chauffeuring her children from one event to the next, and when not driving, she enjoys spending time at home with her family and their two dogs.

David Robinson, MD

Dr. David Robinson comes to Priority 1 Urgent Care after practicing Emergency Medicine for over twenty years at several area hospital emergency departments. He studied medicine and received his MD from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden prior to graduating from the Albany Medical Center Hospital Family Practice Residency Program. Dr. Robinson worked as a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician for 10 years before moving on to Emergency Medicine. He has lived and worked around the United States and internationally, with stops along the way in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Stockholm, prior to settling in Albany. 

Dr. Robinson has previously served on the faculty of the Albany Medical College as well as working for the (now defunct) Community Health Plan. He has a strong interest in sports medicine and spent a number of years as a team physician for the Albany River Rats and Albany Devils AHL hockey teams. 

Outside of Medicine, Dr. Robinson enjoys sailing, skiing, cycling and carpentry. He is married and the proud father of three children, two of whom he had the unique pleasure of personally delivering. 

Jaime McAuley, Practice Manager

Jaime McAuley is Priority 1 Urgent Care’s Practice Manager, and comes to us with a focus on optimizing healthcare operations and enhancing patient care. With over 20 years of experience in customer service, small business management, and healthcare administration, Jaime excels in team leadership, creative thought, and financial accountability and oversight. Jaime’s guidance helps ensure the seamless operation of Priority 1 Urgent Care, promoting the kind of patient-centered approach and positive work environment Priority 1 strives to achieve. 

Outside of work, Jaime enjoys spending time as a crafter, as well as continuing to run her own cosmetology business. She also volunteers on various community projects near her Loudonville home, where she lives with her husband, children, and cats.

What They Say…

My husband and I were both in to Priority 1 Urgent Care for coronavirus testing as we were both exposed. Every thing was done professionally and efficiently and it was very easy for both of us. From the receptionist to the nurse who tested us, please say thank you for a job well done! - Noel L.