When you are sick or injured, the last thing on your mind is the cost. Unfortunately, the high costs of the Emergency Room can leave you with a hurting wallet for months after the visit. Luckily, there are now urgent care centers like Owl Now Urgent Care that are available to provide treatment for a wide range of symptoms, including common infections and minor injuries. So now the only question that remains is, what’s the difference between an emergency and what we like to call here at Owl Now Urgent Care an “urgency?”
An urgent care facility such as ours will have the equipment on-hand to deal with lacerations, sprains, and minor breaks, such as might occur during a sports injury. However, we’re not a fully equipped emergency room, so if the injury is life-threatening or the fractured bone has broken the skin, you will need to go to the ER straight away. We can take care of stitches and sutures, as well as x-rays, but not blood transfusions or surgery.
Other urgencies associated with chronic conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, can be treated at our facility as well. Comparatively, very serious situations, such as heart attacks and strokes, need to be attended to by emergency room staff.
In general, the rule of thumb is that if the situation is life-threatening, you need to call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest ER. If the condition is simply painful or uncomfortable, an urgent care center such as Owl Now Urgent Care is an excellent choice. By knowing when to use which service, you can make the most of the medical resources in your community and in many scenarios save yourself a costly trip to the Emergency Room.
This column is sponsored by Owl Now Urgent Care.
BIO: Greg Pittman, is a certified physician’s assistant working at Owl Now Urgent Care. He treats a large number of worker’s compensation and occupational medicine patients. Owl Now has extended hours and two convenient locations. For service in Lakeland, call (863) 578-8502 or (863) 658-3921 in Winter Haven.
