What are Urgent Care Facilities?

Urgent care facilities are located throughout the country in a variety of locations so that they can offset emergency room visits. They take walk-ins during all hours of operations, which provide a great convenience to many families who have been and continue to be stricken with the need for sudden medical attention. They may need a check, advice, or diagnosis for further treatment elsewhere.

These facilities provide a community service for individuals and families who require non-emergency illness or injury. For families who may not have insurance or sufficient income, they provide economical care between general physician checkups. These facilities are equipped to treat issues that affect infants, children, teenagers, adults, pregnant women, elderly with chronic illnesses and every surprise in between.

Urgent care facilities are filled with the equipment, nurses, and doctor's assistance necessary to provide experienced medical attention for minor procedures and treatment of an array of illnesses. There is a standardized level of services, hours of available treatment and staff training that must be in place in order to properly accommodate the individuals that seek medical attention. Treatment cannot be performed without a physician present and a trained staff with the proper array of equipment to handle a multitude of walk-in cases. The wide-range of minor pains, abrasions, lacerations, and illnesses that can come through the door must be sufficiently treated before the patient is released home or transferred to a hospital. If upon examination it is determined that a man or woman is in need of further monitoring or surgery beyond the scope of services offered in the urgent care facility, the individual will be taken by ambulance to an emergency room for specialized attention.

It is first important to note that an urgent care facility is not like the clinics you can find inside of a pharmacy or strip mall general care walk-in center. The facilities that are being discussed here are simply in place for flu shots or prescriptions. They are present for the medical treatment of serious injury, sudden illness concerns, and chronic illness maintenance for non-emergencies.

On one hand, the difference between an emergency for the hospital and an immediate care situation that does not require emergency attention is the difference between being rushed to an emergency room and being taken to an urgent care facility. You can choose to walk-in of your own accord or you can call information to locate the nearest facility to be picked up and transported for a minor allergy scare, a fall, pregnancy questions, new born questions, and elderly scares that are non-life threatening, for example.

So as long as your life isn't in immediate danger, and you live near an alternative facility, you can receive the immediate care attention that you need to put your mind at ease and protect your body's form and function, regardless of the age of the patient.