Urgent Care vs Emergency Rooms: What Seniors Need to Know
Unfortunately, accidents, injuries, and illnesses happen, and sometimes home treatment isn’t enough. Seeing your regular doctor right away may not be an option. In these circumstances, visiting an urgent care facility or emergency room (ER) is necessary.
But which one should you go to? While both ERs and urgent care units offer immediate medical assistance, understanding the difference helps seniors decide their best course of action.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about urgent care vs. ER care and which one you should visit if the unexpected happens.
What Is Urgent Care?
Urgent care facilities are walk-in clinics that provide immediate medical care outside a traditional hospital ER department. These facilities treat patients with illnesses or injuries requiring prompt care but aren’t severe enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room. Common injuries and illnesses treated in urgent care clinics include sprains, rashes, ear infections, flu, high fevers, and mild to moderate asthma.
While urgent care clinics aren’t open 24/7 like emergency rooms, most have extended hours and are open until 10 PM, or even later.
What Is an Emergency Room?
Emergency rooms are departments within hospitals that are prepared to treat health emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are equipped with qualified medical staff, including doctors and nurses, who can assist patients with various issues. Common types of medical emergencies treated in ERs include strokes, falls, vehicular accident injuries, heart attacks, fractures, and broken bones. Emergency departments have a priority system, treating life-threatening or the most serious injuries/illnesses first.
Depending on their prognosis, patients will either be sent home that same day or admitted to another department in the hospital.
Urgent Care vs ER: Which Should You Go To?
Amid an unexpected illness or injury, you may have trouble deciding whether to visit the ER or an urgent care clinic. Seniors should go straight to the emergency room for:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Seizure or stroke symptoms, including blurred vision, slurred speech, and weakness on one side of the body
- Severe abdominal pain
- Compound fractures
- Bleeding that won’t stop
- Head injuries
- Paralysis or sudden weakness and numbness
- Uncontrollable diarrhea or vomiting
- Suspected food poisoning
- Involvement in a serious accident, like a car crash
More minor medical emergencies can be treated at urgent care facilities. Older adults should visit urgent care clinics for:
- Colds
- Allergies
- Rashes
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Bronchitis
- Ear infections
- Sprains or strains
Where To Go in San Luis Obispo, CA
Here are some local hospitals with emergency departments and local urgent care facilities seniors can visit in San Luis Obispo, CA:
Emergency Rooms
French Hospital Medical Center
1911 Johnson Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA
(866) 984-5211
Arroyo Grande Community Hospital
345 S. Halcyon Road, Arroyo Grande, CA
(888) 645-4602
1010 Murray Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA
(805) 546-7600
1100 Las Tablas Road, Templeton, CA
(805) 434-3500
Urgent Care Clinics
283 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA
(805) 549-8880
777 Foothill Boulevard, San Luis Obispo, CA
(805) 762-4348
Family & Industrial Medical Center
47 Santa Rosa Street, San Luis Obispo, CA
(805) 542-9596
Dignity Health Urgent Care - Pismo Beach
877 Oak Park Boulevard, Pismo Beach, CA
(805) 474-8450
783 Quintana Road, Morro Bay, CA
(805) 771-0108
Visiting Angels of San Luis Obispo, CA, Provides the Support You Need
All seniors need someone they can count on. Visiting Angels of San Luis Obispo, CA, provides caregiving services to help older adults stay safe, healthy, and comfortable within their own homes. We can also provide assistance transitioning home from a hospital stay.
Contact us today at (805) 546-2080 for more information.
