The following piece was contributed by James Kravec, MD, chief clinical officer for both our Lorain and Youngstown markets.
If you need medical assistance, do you know where you should go for care? You’ve likely heard of urgent care, but are you familiar with walk-in care?
At Mercy Health, we offer walk-in care within some of our primary care practices across our footprint. This convenient option gives patients the opportunity to walk in to a participating primary care office without an appointment to be seen the same day for non-emergent illnesses, like that nagging cold or bothersome sore throat.
Walk-in care is similar to urgent care in that you don’t need an appointment, but there’s an added benefit – your appointment is treated just like a primary care provider office visit. And, in many cases, that means you get the same accessibility of urgent care at a more affordable cost.
You may be wondering what ailments can be treated through walk-in care. The answer is really anything you’d go to a primary care provider for help with, just without a pre-scheduled appointment.
Walk in care symptoms and illnesses include:
- Cold, flu or sinus pain
- Sprains
- Rashes and minor burns
- Sore throat
- Ear pain
- Animal or insect bites
- Fever over 101.5
- Sutures
- Seasonal allergies
- Other non-emergency health needs
If you’re not sure if your symptoms are emergent, some symptoms that need to be treated in an emergency department include:
- Heart attack symptoms or chest pain
- Stroke symptoms: sudden numbness, weakness or slurred speech
- Moderate to severe abdominal pain
- Fainting or seizures
- Severe dehydration
- Broken bones or dislocations
- Severe burns or bleeding
- Open wounds
- Severe pain (such as a headache)
- Poisoning
- Trouble breathing
- Sudden vision changes
- Mental health emergencies
Of course, if you are experiencing an emergency or a serious or life-threatening medical issue, always call 911 for help.
We know you’re busy, and sickness as well as minor injuries almost always comes at the most inconvenient times. That’s why at Mercy Health, we’ve made it a priority to offer convenient access to walk-in care with our primary care providers. That way you don’t have to wait a week for an appointment and can get back to your regular schedule, feeling healthy again.
Learn more about the walk-in care services we provide at Mercy Health.
