Urgent Care - vs - Emergency Room

Urgent Care is a convenient, walk-in care service (no appointment is necessary), for many of minor injuries and illnesses, such as:

Laceration repair and wound care Fractures and athletic injuries Skin lesion removal Treatment of boils and abscesses Joint and trigger point injections Cough, colds and flu Upper respiratory infections such as strep throat, sinus infections, bronchitis and ear infections Flu shots Headaches Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea Bladder infections Skin infections, rashes Hemorrhoids Asthma care Sprains and strains

Allergies Ear infections Rashes Poison oak Skin infections and burns Cuts and scrapes Laceration repair and wound care Diarrhea Dehydration Headaches Backaches Mild stomachaches Minor eye problems and nose bleeds Gynecologic and urinary problems Falls Fracture care (broken bones) Eye injuries (foreign bodies)

We do not see seriously ill patients who require a lot of time and attention. This means that patients wait a much shorter time to see a doctor than during a visit to an emergency room.

Urgent Care facilities do not carry the expensive costs of emergency rooms, therefore a visit to urgent care for injuries such as stitches or illnesses will generally be a lot less costly than a visit to the emergency room. We’ll see you when you cannot get in to your own doctor on the same day, or until you find a primary care physician.

We will refer you back to your own doctor for follow-up, or provide you with a list of physicians taking new patients in the area.

Any accident or illness that may lead to loss of life or limb, serious medical complications or permanent disability should be evaluated in the emergency department at the hospital.

Emergency Departments are prepared to care for patients suffering true emergencies such as heart attacks, serious motor vehicle accidents, suicide attempts and other life threatening conditions. Located within a hospital, these centers are able to provide access to major surgeries and critical care units. Patients with less serious conditions can go to the emergency room for care; but when the emergency room staff can see these patients, the sicker patients always take priority, which means that those with minor injuries or illnesses may wait a long time to be seen. Also, because emergency rooms are backed-up by operating rooms, critical care units, and other expensive hospital facilities, they charge ‘facility fees’ on their bills which can add hundreds of dollars to an emergency room visit.

Examples of conditions that should be evaluated in the ER include (this is not a complete list):

• Chest pain
• Severe difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Sudden dizziness, loss of coordination or balance
• Numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg
• Difficulty speaking
• Sudden blurred vision
• Loss of consciousness
• Severe abdominal pain
• Sudden, severe headache
• Seizures
• Coughing up or vomiting blood
• Severe burns
• Deep cuts or bleeding that won't stop
• Fractures with bone showing
• Overdoses

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