Where do you go when you have a broken bone, a major injury, a cold or a concussion? When you're injured, sometimes it's hard to know whether the emergency room or urgent care is the best choice for treatment.
Physician Assistant Patrick Hayford from Spectrum Health educates patients on when it's appropriate to visit the emergency department, or to stop into an urgent care or walk-in clinic.
Urgent Care
- Quick and convenient
- Stitches, and treat broken bones
- Lab and radiology available close by
- Non-life threatening injuries or conditions
- Specific hours of operation (no 24/7 service)
Emergency Department
- Severe injuries, traumatic medical events.
- Broken bones, trauma, uncontrollable bleeding, etc.
- Open 24/7
- Call 911 when immediate help is needed
When neither of these services are needed, Spectrum Health also has primary care providers and MedNow, an online medical service. When in doubt- knowing in fact that you're not having a medical emergency- just give your primary hospital a call to see what you need to do next for treatment.
For more information on Spectrum Health's medical services, visit spectrumhealth.org.
