When Urgent Care Is Your Best Choice
Sep 09, 2022
When you have an urgent medical issue that isn’t life-threatening, the last thing you want to do is spend hours waiting in an emergency room. Urgent care may be your best option.
Emergency rooms are notoriously overcrowded, but many doctor offices keep strict weekday only hours and aren’t open when it’s very early or very late. What do you do when you need immediate medical help that doesn’t quite qualify as an emergency?
At House Call Doctors of Pacific Northwest PLLC, with offices in Bellingham, Snohomish, and Everett, Washington, our team, which includes Bernadette Kimemia, DNP, ARNP, FNP-C, and Phyllis Muthee, NP, ARNP, offer urgent care services in our offices, in your home, or via virtual visits using telemedicine.
Urgent care basics
Urgent care can be appropriate for anything from the sudden onset of a severe common cold to a sprained ankle. Anything that requires fast access to medical care but isn’t life-threatening or surgical in nature can typically be handled by your urgent care team.
At House Call Doctors of Pacific Northwest PLLC, our experienced team is ready to treat a wide range of medical problems even when they occur at the most inconvenient of times. We work to make life easier by providing a way for you or your child to get the care you need, when you need it.
Examples of urgent care situations
Not certain whether your issue requires urgent care or emergency room care? Here are many of the conditions our team can treat, saving you a trip to the ER.
- Common colds, stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, or cough
- Stomachache, diarrhea, or constipation
- Lacerations or animal bites
- Asthma attacks or allergic reactions
- COVID-19 or flu testing
- Earache, headache, or migraine
- Rash, hives, or insect bites or stings
- Burning or pain during urination
- Injuries to soft tissues like muscles, tendons, or ligaments (sprains and strains)
- Chronic illness side effects
How to access urgent care
Walk-in service is always available at our Snohomish and Everett, Washington, offices, and you’ll get even faster service if you call and tell us you are coming, so we can prepare for your visit. Our team can also come to your house if needed, or you can always request a telemedicine visit.
During your visit, we ask about your symptoms and either take or update your medical history. Then we complete a physical exam and order any necessary testing. Once we’ve diagnosed your problem, your doctor delivers appropriate treatment.
We can care for a sprain or strain, provide a prescription for oral medication, clean and suture a wound or bite, swiftly treat an asthma attack, or even deliver intravenous (IV) therapy to make you feel better as quickly as possible.
Need urgent care? Book your walk-in appointment, house call, or virtual visit by calling House Call Doctors of Pacific Northwest PLLC or clicking the online scheduling tool now.