When to Choose Urgent Care or Emergency Room
With today’s busy lifestyles, health care needs can pop up without warning, and urgent care is becoming a favored choice for many in the communities served by NorthBay Health.
That’s why NorthBay Urgent Care in Vacaville and Fairfield are so popular and why two more Urgent Care facilities are under construction, one in American Canyon and the other in Dixon, both scheduled to open later this year.
Hailed as an excellent and more affordable choice to local emergency rooms, NorthBay Urgent Care serves a variety of ailments, from bronchitis and pink eye to sprains and rashes. The service is offered in partnership with Carbon Health, a leading national healthcare provider, and features virtual visits and online apps to streamline the experience.
So how do you know when to take your concerns to a primary doctor, urgent care or the emergency room?
Here are some simple guidelines:
The Emergency Department is your best choice if your condition is life-threatening. Call 911, and an emergency crew will come to you. The Emergency Department is also the default caregiver when care is needed after hours. As a result, emergency care is expensive, and the wait can be substantial, especially in a pandemic world. There are a number of medical conditions that are considered emergencies because they can require rapid or advanced treatments (such as surgery) that are only available in a hospital setting. Symptoms that are best evaluated in an emergency room include chest pain or difficulty breathing, weakness/numbness on one side and slurred speech, serious burns and broken bones.
Urgent Care is an excellent option when you have a non-emergent but serious condition, need to see a medical professional quickly, and you cannot get in to see your primary caregiver. NorthBay Urgent Care facilities are same day clinics that treat numerous conditions, such as fever without a rash, vomiting, moderate flu-like symptoms, small cuts that may require stitches and sprains. With an X-ray room on-site, our urgent care team works closely with NorthBay Orthopedics to get patients in front of orthopedic physicians quickly. We also offer COVID testing. The centers are open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. While urgent care clinics are convenient and a great resource, they are not a substitute for your primary care physician.
Primary Care is your best choice when you want to schedule appointments with your primary physician and care team to stay on top of your health concerns, refill prescriptions, complete regular screenings and tests and gain referrals if you need expert care or therapy. If an appointment isn’t available when you need it, you may be able to meet with another physician, a physician assistant or a nurse practitioner. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Look for the American Canyon Urgent Care to open in June and the Dixon facility to open in August! Book an appointment at our Vacaville and Fairfield locations today.
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